Board of Zoning & Building Appeals

City of Hudson, Ohio Meeting Minutes - Final Board of Zoning & Building Appeals John Dohner, Chair Kerri Keller, Vice Chair Lydia Bronstein Robert Kahrl Louis Wagner Greg Hannan, Community Development Director Amanda Davey, Associate Planner Thursday, September 15, 2022 7:30 PM Town Hall 27 East Main Street I. Call to Order Chair Dohner called to order the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Zoning & Building Appeals at 7:30 p.m., in accordance with the Sunshine Laws of the State of Ohio, O.R.C. Section 121.22. II. Roll Call Present: 5 - Ms. Bronstein, Mr. Dohner, Ms. Keller, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Kahrl III. Identification, by Chairman, of Amanda Davey, Associate Planner. IV. Swearing in of Staff and Audience Addressing the Board. Chair Dohner swore-in staff and all the persons wishing to speak under oath. V. Approval of Minutes BZBA 8-18-2022Minutes of Previous Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting: August 18, 2022 Attachments: 8-18-2022 Meeting Minutes - DRAFT A motion was made by Mr. Wagner, seconded by Mr. Kahrl, that the August 18, 2022 Minutes be approved as submitted. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 3 - Mr. Dohner, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Kahrl Abstain: 2 - Ms. Bronstein and Ms. Keller VI. Public Hearings - New Business BZBA 2022-778 The subject of this hearing is a variance request of fourteen (14) feet from the required ground sign setback of fifteen (15) feet resulting in a ground sign setback of one (1) foot pursuant to Section City of Hudson, Ohio Page 1 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final September 15, 2022 1207.17(d)(4)(a), “Signs in Nonresidential Districts - Permanent Ground Signs” of the City of Hudson Land Development Code. The applicant is Christopher Haedt, 515 E. Main Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. The property owner is, UYS Properties LLC, 231 Seasons Road, Hudson, Ohio 44236 for the property at 231 Seasons Road in District 8 [Industrial/Business Park]. Attachments: BZBA Staff Report - 231 Seasons Road Ms. Davey introduced the application by describing the property, noting construction is taking place for a building that will be the Western Reserve Health Campus and that a conditional use approval was issued in 2021. Ms. Davey also reviewed the applicable LDC for setbacks and reviewed the staff comments and considerations. Mr. Jon Sofranec, Design Group Architects, noted the variance request is due to the approved area for a sign being in a wetland with mature trees and not highly visible for traffic. Mr. Sofranec also displayed photos of where the sign would be required to be and the difficulty of seeing it from the road while noting all other Hudson Land Development Codes will be adhered to. The Board, applicant and staff discussed other possible locations for the sign, none of which were optimal for arriving traffic. The Board also noted the proposed location is approximately 35-feet from the stop sign and 45-feet from the property line. Staff detailed the ownership of the adjoining properties. The Board also discussed the platting of the property, the likelihood of the road being widened and the possibility of another company at a future time requesting the same sign location variance. Staff noted if the sign is placed without a variance, it will be closer to the wetlands. The Board noted that without a variance, the sign will be required to be 45-feet off the road which might cause difficultly in locating the business and granting the variance may result in other businesses desiring their sign moved closer to the road. Ms. Keller made a motion, seconded by Mr. Kahrl, based on the evidence presented to the Board by the applicant Chris Haedt, that the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals grant the following: A variance request of fourteen (14) feet from the required ground sign setback of fifteen (15) feet resulting in a ground sign setback of one (1) foot pursuant to Section 1207.17(d)(4)(a), “Signs in Nonresidential Districts – Permanent Ground Signs” of the City of Hudson Land Development Code. After reviewing the application, the hearing of evidence under oath, reviewing all documentary submissions of interested parties and by taking into consideration the personal knowledge of the property in question, the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals grants the variance as requested. The Board finds and concludes; 1. The property in question will yield a reasonable return and there could be a beneficial use of the property without the variance. 2. The requested variance is substantial as it is a 93% deviation from the Land City of Hudson, Ohio Page 2 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final September 15, 2022 Development Code requirement. 3. The essential character of the neighborhood would not be substantially altered, and adjoining properties would not suffer a substantial detriment as a result of the variance. 4. The variances would not adversely affect the delivery of governmental services. 5. The existing regulations were in affect when the applicant purchased the property in 2013. 6. The applicant's predicament feasibly cannot be resolved through some other method other than granting the variance. If the applicant were to meet the requirements, then the proposed permanent ground sign would be closer to the existing wetlands. Additionally, the slight incline in the road will make the sign a challenge to see and the applicant is already proposing the maximum height allowance for permanent ground signs. 7. The spirit and intent behind the zoning requirement would be observed and substantial justice would be done by granting the variance as this property has a large public right of way area, therefore the permanent ground sign is proposed forty-five feet from the edge of the road pavement. Aye: 5 - Ms. Bronstein, Mr. Dohner, Ms. Keller, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Kahrl VII. Other Business Councilwoman Heater noted appointments to the Steering Committee may be made at the next Council meeting. This matter was discussed BZBA Admin Amendments to the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals Administrative 2022 Rules Attachments: Memo to BZBA - Administrative Rules 2022 - Revised BZBA Administrative Rules 2022 DRAFT - Revised The Board discussed the following regarding amendments to the BZBA administrative rules: Conflict of interest, consistent use of the word ‘Board’, that recuse, not excuse should be used in some situations, not being able to explain the nature of a conflict of interest, that to recuse oneself from an application is only for a particular agenda item, not the entirety of the meeting. The Board also discussed that the review of the Board regulations should begin with the Board, not staff and the Board agreed to be prepared to discuss the proposed Administrative Rules. Comments may be sent prior to the next BZBA to Chair Dohner. This matter was discussed City of Hudson, Ohio Page 3 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final September 15, 2022 VIII. Adjournment A motion was made by Ms. Keller, seconded by Mr. Wagner, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried by an unanimous vote. John Dohner, Chair ________________________________ Kerri Keller, Vice Chair ________________________________ Joe Campbell, Executive Assistant Upon approval by the Board of Zoning & Building Appeals, this official written summary of the meeting minutes shall become a permanent record, and the official minutes shall also consist of a permanent audio and video recording, excluding executive sessions, in accordance with Codified Ordinances, Section 252.04, Minutes of Architectural and Historic Board of Review, Board of Zoning and Building Appeals, and Planning Commission. * * * City of Hudson, Ohio Page 4