Board of Zoning Appeals

TOWNOF~ Brownsl5urg BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS Minutes Brownsburg Town Hall 61 North Green Street Brownsburg, Indiana 46112 Monday, November 9, 2020 The Brownsburg Board of Zoning Appeals convened at 7:00 PM with a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Michael Neal opened the meeting, and a roll call was taken. Members Present: Maria Andrews, Ben Lacey, Mike Neal, and Chris Worley Members Absent: David Emery Also Present: Jodi Dickey, AICP- Director of Development Services and Todd Barker, AICP - Asst. Director of Development Services, Lauren Gillingham, AICP Cand.- Planner, Tricia Leminger- Legal Counsel A. CALL TO ORDER AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM B. MOMENT OF SILENCE & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE C. CONSIDERATION OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S) MINUTES 1. September 14. 2020- Regular Meeting Motion: Ben Lacey made a motion to APPROVE the September 14, 2020 regular meeting minutes, seconded by Chris Worley, motion carried 4 In Favor/0 Opposed/0 Abstained. D. APPROVAL OF FINDINGS OF FACT 1. None E. HEARING OF REQUESTS FOR CONTINUANCES 1. None F. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. None G. OLD BUSINESS 1. None H. NEW BUSINESS 1. BZSE-10-20-1852 Panda Express "Restaurant With Drive-Up Window" A request for a Special Exception Use approval from Art. 2 § 2.29 to permit a "Restaurant With Drive-Up Window" use within the Moderate Intensity General Commercial (Cl) District. Parcel No. 32-07-02-210-002.000-026 1 of 4 Represented by Leslie Accardo, PEA Group ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING Leslie Accardo, PEA Group, presented the case on behalf of Panda Express. She said Panda Express was a family owned casual fast food restaurant chain serving American Chinese food. They were established in 1973 and had over 2,200 locations. They were currently the largest Asian segment chain restaurant in the United States. Ms. Accardo said they prided themselves on philanthropic endeavors through a program called Panda Cares by providing aid within the communities they served. She said the drive up window was an essential function of the way the restaurant ran and the purchase of the property was contingent on obtaining the Special Exception use approval. Ms. Accardo said COVID-19 had made a huge impact on the way people eat. Customers were looking for opportunities to reduce their contact with other people. She said a lot of other restaurants had seen an increase in drive-up windows. Ms. Accardo reviewed the location of the property which used to be a carwash. The property had been vacant for some time. She said the Special Exception use was consistent with the purpose of the zoning district and the Brownsburg Comprehensive Plan and would not alter the district. The property was currently designated as commercial for future land use. The use was also consistent with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan as far as development and providing upscale restaurants within the community. Ms. Accardo said various restaurants in the area also had drive-up windows. The Applicant did not believe the property would be injurious to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the society as the use would ensure customers had reduced contact interaction. One of the entry/exits from the current property had been removed to limit the amount of traffic going in and out of the property, and had been designed to minimize cross-traffic for pedestrians. Ms. Accardo said the drive-up window was harmonious with other adjacent land uses such as the Dunkin Donuts, Old National Bank, Starbucks and Steak and Shake along with others. It would not alter the character of the district as it was currently zoned for commercial and adjacent properties were also commercial including Applebee's, Dunkin Donuts, Brownsburg Commons, and Old National. Ms. Accardo said the fa<;ade of the building would be similar to the fa<;ade of those other buildings as it was primarily brick. It would be an improvement above and beyond some of the other properties in the area with brand new landscaping. She showed the Board that the site was primarily gravel and asphalt with a lot of scrubby trees and bushes. She then showed the elevations for the new building. Lauren Gillingham review the case and said the Applicant gave a very comprehensive presentation. This was a proposed Special Exception use for the "Restaurant, With Drive Up Window," which was not permitted by right within the Cl district. She showed the surrounding zoning and the site where an existing building had been originally demolished to make way for Panera. Panda Express had filed the DPR request for the December Plan Commission meeting. The project was consistent with the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and the Business Areas Plan, both of which proposed Corridor Commercial and this use was ideal. Ms. Gillingham said there were no outstanding TECH comments. Staff felt that based upon the analysis of the information submitted by the Applicant, they had satisfied the requirements for the Special Exception variance subject to and conditioned upon the following: (1) The Applicant must complete a Development Plan Review (DPR) by the Plan Commission. 2 of 4  (2) The approval of the Special Exception Use shall expire on November 9, 2022, two years from the date of approval, if building permits are not obtained from the Department of Development Services for the proposed buildings. (3) That the Restaurant with Drive-Up Window use be permitted pursuant to the Applicant's Application, dated 10/13/2020; the Applicant's Revised Detailed Statement of Reasons, dated 10/19/2020; and the Applicant's proposed Layout, dated 10/14/2020. (4) The approval of the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law by the Board of Zoning Appeals. *Maria Andrews did not have her microphone on so her testimony is incomplete. Ms. Andrews was concerned about traffic. Ms. Gillingham said that this was only a meeting on the Special Exception use so it was less about the traffic as that would be addressed in the DPR. Mike Neal said the only access to and from the site would be on Whittington Drive so there would not be an entrance on Green Street but the Applicant was there just for the drive-thru window that night. Ben Lacey did not have any questions at that time but thought it was a good use for that parcel. Chris Worley said one criteria for a proposed Special Exception was that it would not be injurious to public health, safety, morals, and welfare. He knew the only entrance was off Whittington so he did not see any danger to public health from traffic. He asked Staff if there was any cleanup of hazardous materials done after the car wash was demolished or if there would be any follow up inspection to ensure that that area did not contain hazardous materials. Ms. Gillingham said when Panera did their due diligence on the site they did the environmental testing and there were not any environmental issues. Mike Neal said he did not have any questions and agreed with Mr. Lacey that it was a fantastic use of the site and made sense. *Ms. Andrews made comments about traffic Mr. Neal said he did not disagree with Ms. Andrews but the Board was only looking at if the Special Exception use affected the general welfare; the building might but that would be addressed at the APC meeting. Was the window itself injurious to public health specifically by granting the Special Exception? His answer was no. Ben Lacey said that it would be addressed with the APC but noted when Panera came in they had an island on Whittington Drive and when leaving, they were forced to turn right past the self- storage and out to 700/Garner Road and that would eliminate a lot of the safety concerns. Mr. Barker said Panda Express's plan would allow for the left turn. They were eliminating the westernmost drive that was there for the carwash and their proposed site plan would have it at the far eastern end of their of the property. Mr. Barker explained that when the Plan Commission looked at traffic with a reuse it was looking at the net difference in traffic; was the peak hour traffic of Panda higher, similar, or less than the peak hour traffic of the carwash. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING OPENED Cindy Hohman, 15 Tyler Court- Ms. Hohman agreed with Ms. Andrews and said Panera was a restaurant that happened to have a drive through and Panda was a drive through establishment with a restaurant attached to it; that created a whole different traffic problem at that property. She said it was difficult to take a left out of there. With a drive thru there would be a lot of cars going through every five minutes and taking a left out of Whittington. She did not think they would take the alternative routes. If they were turning left and traffic across the street was also taking left, there would be accidents. She felt it was the window itself that would create those problems and was a safety issue for the public. Ms. Hohman asked how many seats they would have inside for inside dining. 3 of 4  Ms. Accardo said she did not know offhand how many seats were in the restaurant. She said Panda Express considered themselves a casual dining restaurant and not just a drive thru which was one reason they had that much parking. Ms. Gillingham said the number of parking spots was about 39 or 40 seats, and the Applicant was at 129% parking over the parking minimum which was within the permitted amount before triggering additional landscaping requirements. Mr. Lacey asked what the timing of their deliveries were. Ms. Accardo said it was usually early morning and they used using a smaller truck and not semi-trucks. Motion: Ben Lacey made a motion to APPROVE BZSE-10-20-1852 subject to and conditioned upon Staff recommendations, seconded by Chris Worley, motion carried 4 In Favor/0 Opposed/0 Abstained. ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED I. COMMUNICATIONS & REPORTS 1. 2021 Meeting Dates Todd Barker asked the Board to approve the proposed 2021 meeting dates so they could be properly advertised at the beginning of the year. The typical October date fell on Columbus Day so that was moved to the 13th, all of the others dates were the second Monday of the month. Motion: Chris Worley made a motion to APPROVE the 2021 Meeting Dates, seconded by Ben Lacey, motion carried 4 In Favor/0 Opposed/0 Abstained. J. CITIZENS COMMENTS RELATING TO AGENDA 1. Cindy Hohman thanked the Board for their efforts. K. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Ben Lacey made a motion to ADJOURN, motion carried 4 In Favor/0 Opposed/0 Abstained. 7:23 P.M. ATTEST: l Heather Wetzel, Admini rative Assistant 4 of 4