What Joe Huff wants to build on his property at Lake Monroe

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect Joe Huff did not play for the Indianapolis Colts.

Joe Huff drove his black SUV over the crest of a hill on his 260-acre property in Monroe County to show where he plans to build a home for his family: The hill provides a nearly 180-degree panorama of the beauty of Lake Monroe and the wooded areas of the south shore.

“We want this as a family estate to enjoy and recreate,” the former IU linebacker said. “It’s a legacy for our children."

Filings with the county show that Huff plans to build a 9,606-square-foot home; the tallest part of the structure will measure 34 feet. The home was designed by Indianapolis architect One 10 Studio, the website of which displays lots of modern architecture — rectangular buildings with lots of windows — and which quotes Mies van der Rohe, one of the pioneers of modern architecture.

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Huff and his wife, Nicole, who live in Bargersville and Florida, have for years been embroiled in a legal battle with county officials over local zoning laws. The Huffs recently escalated the dispute by filing a lawsuit in federal court, alleging county officials are depriving the couple of their constitutional rights to enjoy their land. The county said the case should be dismissed, in part because the parties already are battling over the same issues in state court.

Huff said last week he just wants to build a home, two guest cabins and a barn for equipment. On a west-facing grassy slope, he said he would like to plant grapes, primarily because his wife loves wines. You can see an overview of what he wants to build here: tinyurl.com/3rc8v4s5.

As Huff walked near the planned grape slope, a stack of about 30 logs of red and black oak, some with cracks, lay at the top of a hill. Huff said he was saddened to learn that a late May wind storm had damaged and uprooted about 300 trees on his property. His property still showed signs of damage. Crews on the site last week were trying to drag some fallen trees out of ditches.

The Huffs' property features hills and valleys, a few flat areas where they would like to build the structures, and lots of trees, primarily hardwoods. Huff said his crews have over the years removed smaller poplar and beech trees, which, he said, can take over and prevent regeneration of the hardwoods. Huff said his crews also have removed some invasive tree species.

Huff said he is following a stewardship plan developed in 2017 by a Spencer-based forester that aims, among other things, “to improve the wildlife habitat,” “control exotic invasive species” and “selectively harvest trees.”

Huff also has an invasive species practice plan and a timber stand improvement practice plan, which aims to establish “a high quality health stand of trees with the help of some timber stand improvement (thinning and vine control.)” The plan shows the Huffs’ property includes black cherry, black oak, black walnut, chinkapin oak, white ash, pecan, red oak, sugar maple and hickory trees. The plan suggests some thinning because in some areas “the stand density is too high.” It also recommends cutting some species that are less than 12 inches in diameter to foster regeneration of more desirable trees.

County officials have accused Huff of illegal logging, but Huff said in a lawsuit that he doesn’t actually need a logging permit so long as he removes trees for the health of the forest and not for commercial purposes.

Huff said his family doesn’t need the money from logging. Any money he has generated from logging has gone back into the preservation of the land, he said.

“I’m not doing this for an investment,” he said.“ “My family doesn’t want to hurt anybody.”

Michael Cain, a neighbor of the Huffs who has sued them in part to prevent them from using an easement for heavy trucks carrying timber, said his attorney advised him not to comment on pending litigation.

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As Huff drove his vehicle on the property's trails, he said nearly all of them existed before he bought the land, which, he said, used to house a pig farm and, near the water, a limestone quarry. He said soon after he bought the property in 2017 — local records show he paid about $2.5 million — crews removed about 300 truckloads of limestone that had been left from the quarry operation. Some of it, he said, had been sitting there for decades. He said he sold some but gave most of it away.

Huff said he put down gravel on the existing paths to prevent erosion. In some areas where he has put down grass seed, he would like to plant trees. One area is a point depicted in an aerial photo that has been circulated widely, where Huff said he removed invasive species. But, he said, he can’t plant trees because it requires digging holes, which would constitute soil disruption, which the county doesn’t want.

He said he has added only one short trail to the property, near the home site, because the slope was too steep for some machinery, and because a crest created a blind spot that nearly caused a head-on collision.

“We’re not going to disrupt more land,” he said.

The county’s attorney, Dave Schilling, said he could not comment on pending litigation, except to say the county is merely trying to enforce local zoning rules. In court filings, the county said it also has an obvious interest in protecting Lake Monroe, the area’s drinking water source.

More:Despite settlement, $50K payment, dispute between county officials, Huffs continues

The county in court filings wrote that an April 18 inspection by the county's MS4 coordinator, Kelsey Thetonia, and the Huffs' engineer revealed "evidence of non-compliance."

Thetonia wrote her report, which includes about two pages of type, a map and 33 pages of photos, was "limited to stormwater related observations and maintenance actions as they pertain to the state of the site at the time of the inspection. The contents of this report do not indicate, and are not meant to indicate, compliance status with local ordinances or other regulations."

Thetonia wrote she found "evidence of stump grubbing," a method of removing tree stumps, throughout the site and that a road had been constructed in a valley that crossed a stream in at least seven locations. "Every culvert on this road had washed out," she wrote.

She also wrote "treetops that were cut from trees were observed on the ground in ravines," that a dumpster on site was not covered and that a portable toilet on site was tipped over next to building materials.

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Some of the photos showed sparse vegetation on road shoulders. Thetonia also described a "disturbed area" with sparse mulch coverage, rills and small gullies forming on roads, some aggregate migrating off roads, "high shoulder" erosion, improperly sized and installed culverts, cut trees in a ravine and an area that was "disturbed and reseeded."

Thetonia recommended some maintenance actions but wrote implementation would require planning department approval:

• Repair of eroded sections of private access roads.

• Measures to manage runoff and minimize erosion.

• Replace damaged sections of silt fence.

• Apply seed and straw to areas with less than 70% vegetated cover.

• Reduce stream crossings.

• Properly close logging roads where there is active erosion.

• Remove treetops and brush that were placed on the ground in ravines

• Cover the trash dumpster and clean up the portable toilet that tipped over, including cleaning up spilled material.

More:County attorneys: Huffs' recent court filing 'disingenuous'

Huff said he thinks the primary drivers of erosion at the lake are the dam and high-powered boats that generate big waves. As he stood near the water, he pointed to nearby federally owned land that showed clear signs of erosion.

Huff said that once the home and guest cabins are built, he hopes to simply walk the trails on his property to enjoy the woods and the scenery — and dodge the copperheads.

If it were up to him, Huff said the structures would have been built by now. He said the county’s delays have cost him a lot of money, as building prices have risen sharply during the pandemic.

He said he will continue to fight the county, primarily because county officials are making it more difficult for people to build homes at the lake.

"Dream crushers," he called county officials.

Contact reporter Boris Ladwig at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Joe Huff continues fighting to build houses at Lake Monroe