CEDAR LAKE | Town consulting engineers will develop a plan to enhance 4 acres of wetlands on the town's west end where nearby residents are crying foul after trees and brush were removed.

John Ritchie of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Sarah McKeown with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management met with town officials, the current owner and prospective owners Thursday morning to assess the area.

Walking the site on the northwest corner of West 133rd and Lindberg avenues near the Holy Name Cemetery, Ritchie said the next step will be a recommended plan from the town for the 3 acres owned by Mark Dust, of Cedar Lake, as well as the 1 acre owned by the town.

John and Tom Schilling intend to buy the 3 acres to create T&J Landscaping.

Thursday's visit to the site followed Wednesday's Cedar Lake Plan Commission meeting during which a number of residents from the nearby Vanco subdivision expressed concerns.

"They were concerned about the trees taken down and the environmental impact," said council President Dennis Wilkening, D-5th, who also is a Plan Commission member.

Doug Wynkoop, the town's code enforcement officer, said all work was stopped at the site Thursday until proper permits are obtained.

In the meantime, Ritchie said that the Army Corps and the IDEM will assess the environmental impact of what has occurred at the site to date. A machine shop operated on the southern portion for 70 years, Dust said. A ditch with a catch basin at its north end was being studied Thursday.

Matt Lake, of Christopher Burke Engineering, Crown Point, will be working on the wetlands enhancement plan. He said that Vanco residents' worries about flooding would be eased by the wetlands enhancement, which would improve stormwater management.

John Schilling said that he believes his company's development of the space would easily mesh with ideas broached by Lake and Ritchie.