Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION March 19,2018 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Jackson Began, Tracy Walder, Jake Gray, David Lahr, and Kathy Davis. Secretary Griffee informed the Board that publication by the Lafayette Leader failed to occur as required by the By-Laws for the notices of petitions BZA No. 2018-4 and BZA No. 2018-6. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Bogan. Ms. Walder moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Ms. Davis. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Ms. Walder moved to continue petitions 2018-4 and 2018-6 to the April 16, 2018 meeting; second by Ms. Davis. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS: 2018-4 Petition filed by ANTHONY CAWDRON for multiple requests for property located at 325 N 5TH ST: 1) Variance to allow 24.8% vegetative cover instead of the required 30%. 2) Variance to allow building coverage of 51.3% instead of the allowed 35%. 3) Variance to allow 0.9' setback instead of the required 15' (North Street frontage). 4) Variance to allow 4.4' setback instead of the required 15' (N 5th Street frontage). 5) Variance to allow 3' rear setback instead of the required 6'. 6) Variance to allow 2.5' side setback instead of the required 6'. CONTINUED 2018-5 Petition filed bv 208 SOUTH 4TH STREET LLC for variance to allow 5 vehicular parking spaces instead of the required 7 spaces. Property located at 208 S 4 ST. Ms. Walder moved to hear and approve the petition, second by Ms. Davis. Chris Shelmon, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. The petitioner, Paul Griggs, was also present. Mr. Shelmon stated the request is for the remodel of an existing building at 208 South 4th Street. The property was recently rezoned to Central Business (CB). The first floor use does not require parking but the conversion of the upper floors to a total of 4 apartment units does require parking. The parking ordinance in Lafayette requires a little under 2 spaces per unit; the site can fit 5 spaces due to the existing building. Based on our experience, we are expecting a demand of 1 space per unit. There is on-street parking and in this case the lot to the north of the site will have available parking as well and is under common ownership. Mr. Began asked how many units will be going in. Mr. Shelmon responded 4 units. Mr. Began stated that 5 spaces there would be 1.25 spaces per unit going in. Mike Buckles, 220 S 4TH ST, asked what the bottom use will be that does not require parking spaces. Mr. Shelmon responded that they hope it will be a restaurant. Mr. Buckles asked if that would require parking. Secretary Griffee responded that use does not require parking in the Central Business zone. Mr. Gray asked where people would park for the restaurant. Secretary Griffee responded that parking for that type of use is accommodated as it would be anywhere else in the downtown area. Mr. Lahr asked for clarification on the adjacent parking area. Mr. Shelmon responded that the parking lot is on the north side. They are anticipating that the restaurant use would have access to parking there and that the restaurant use would be at times where there would be parking available in the area. Mr. Buckles asked what the hours of operation would be. Mr. Shelmon responded that they did not know yet but they are anticipating the restaurant to be dinner oriented. If there is lunch, they would expect to serve a downtown lunch crowd. Mr. Lahr stated that there a lot of people that live downtown that don't drive and use alternate transportation but he still drives down 4 Street and he sees a lot of cars along the curb. He doesn't want to vote for something that is going to make it worse. Mr. Began stated that since this petition is related to BZA No. 2018-6 and a lot of the same people present will also be impacted that there is an opportunity now to start a conversation so that there can be a benefit to the entire area as a whole. Right now, we are talking about a couple of parking spots. As this develops, there will be more important things to talk about. Mr. Bogan continued that as far as the Central Business zone goes, that's not something up for our discussion or for our vote. Our vote is for the apartment use. Secretary Griffee confirmed this assessment. The Board voted by ballot: 5 yes 0 no. PETITION GRANTED 2018-6 Petition filed by 200 SOUTH 4TH STREET LLC for multiple requests for property located at 200 S 4TH ST: 1) Variance to allow 130' building height instead of the allowed 100'. 2) Variance to allow 334 SF total sign area instead of the allowed 40 SF. CONTINUED The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Monday, April 16, 2018 at 4:00 PM. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4:13 PM. Secretary