Coyote Falls developers seek approval for indoor water park plans

Tuesday, 14 March 2006

By TOM JACKSON
tomjackson@sanduskyregister.com

PERKINS TWP. - Developers of the planned Coyote Falls resort have filed preliminary plans with Erie County planners for the 48-acre site Dial Family Resorts plans to develop along U.S. 250.

Dial is seeking approval of those plans when the Erie Regional Planning Commission meets March 23 at BGSU Firelands, said Tim King, senior planner for Erie County.

King said he's seen nothing so far that would prevent Dial from winning approval for the plans. Once they are approved, the next step will be to submit construction drawings and a final plat, he said.

"My guess would be we would be preparing the construction plans 30 days after the planning commission approves our preliminary plat," said Dave Saneholtz, project engineer at Poggemeyer Design Group Inc. of Bowling Green.

Construction of the roads in the development probably would begin in June or July, Saneholtz said.

A new stoplight on U.S. 250 is planned at the waterpark's main entrance. A traffic study for the new light has been approved by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Saneholtz said.

Coyote Falls would be the fourth indoor waterpark in Erie County. The first three were Great Wolf Lodge, Castaway Bay and Kalahari.

Officials at Dial in Omaha, Neb., couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Last year, Dial officials said they plan an $84 million, 347-room resort with a 65,000-square-foot indoor waterpark that would open by 2008.

Coyote Falls will be on the west side of U.S. 250, just south of New Life Church and a little bit north of Kalahari. All of it would be within Perkins Township.

The plans for Coyote Falls show that access to the resort would be provided by two roads, Coyote Falls Drive and Fishing Cabin Drive. The two roads would connect motorists to a north-south road, Coyote Falls Avenue.

The waterpark itself will be located on about 27 acres of land, with about another 12 acres set aside for expansion. The plans submitted to Erie County do not show plans for the waterpark but detail the location of roads and lots on the project.

Saneholtz said he hasn't been given a timetable for construction of the waterpark and resort.

Next week's planning meeting also will include action on two other large projects.

Hoty Enterprises Inc. filed a final plan for the second phase of the upscale Angels Path housing development near Galloway Road and Perkins Avenue. The plan shows 12 additional housing lots on about 7.6 acres in Perkins Township.

Jkomm LLC of Sandusky has submitted a preliminary plan for Phase II and Phase III of the Bone Creek business park next to Ohio 4, just south of the Delphi plant in Perkins Township.

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