Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION February 19,2019 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Tuesday, February, 2019 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Jackson Bogan, Tracy Waider, Dave WiHiams, and David Lahr. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Bogan. Ms. Waider moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Mr. Williams. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS 2019-4 Petition filed by KARMA ENTERPRISES, LLC for variance to allow 9 parking spaces instead of the required 13 spaces. Property located at 525 WABASH AVE. Ms. Walder moved to hear and approve the petition, second by Mr. Williams. Joe Bumbleburg, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. The petitioner, Robert Corbin, was also present. Mr. Bumbleburg stated they are requesting a variance from the required 13 parking spaces to 9. This is in a building that was the old St. Vincent store at one point. The building is on and this petition has to deal with two lots. Mr. Bumbleburg pointed to the lots referencing the submitted site plan. He also identified a public alley that they attempted to vacate. However, they discovered that there is a significant sewer in the alley so they couldn't do that. He also identified other buildings in the vicinity. Mr. Bumbleburg also pointed to the 9 parking spaces that are available. There is a significant amount of on-street parking in the area. We are not going to create any kind of parking problems. The petitioner's business is the Karma Business and they are going to be using the building for storage only. They are going to remodel the other side to create a coupie commercial spaces. One will be for two chiropractors and then there's going to be a retail store in there. They do have a tenant. They are going to put this building back into use. They have talked to people at St. Anne's about using their lot if there is ever a problem. Because of the zone that St. Anne's is in, an agreement for parking is not possible. The buiiding is 10,000 square-feet. Half is going to be for the storage, 3500 square-feet for the chiropractors, and 1500 square-feet for the retail. So the parking requirements (respectively) are (2, 3, and 8) for a total of (13). We do not violate the ballot items in any way. I believe Dennis Carson would support this petition for economic development purposes. There will be no harm to the neighborhood. The Board voted by ballot: 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2019-5 Petition filed by FRANK FOUST for muitiple requests for property located at 1623 UNDERWOOD ST: 1) Variance to allow a 40' lot width instead of the required 60'. 2) Variance to allow a 5680 SF lot area instead of the required 6000 SF. Ms. Walder moved to hear and approve the petition, second by Mr. Williams. The petitioner, Frank Foust, presented the petition. Mr. Foust stated that the reason for the variance is to build a two-story duplex. Mr. Bogan asked for clarification of the project location referencing aerial photography. Mr. Foust pointed to the existing structure at the location and the actual lot in question which is immediately south of the existing structure. Mr. Foust stated that he had both lots rezoned to R2U. He added that he plans on leaving the existing structure and that he has fiied for permits to remodel it. He then pointed to the proposed location of the new structure. Mr. Foust provided an elevation view and floor plan of the proposed duplex. Based on information from a surveyor, the property line is 7' from the neighbor to the south. The new structure will be 10' from his property line. The new structure is 20' wide, its a narrow structure. But the lot allows it to be a long structure. He pointed out the floor plan. Mr. Bogan asked for clarification on the floor plan. Mr. Foust responded that each unit is two-story. The floor plans are the same on each level. He stated that he chose this structure because it gives some of the same historic look of the existing structure and because of the newer, nearby houses wanted to also have a modern look. Mr. Bogan asked about the area of the structure. Mr. Foust replied that it is 2220 square-feet total of living area. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2) 4 yes O no. Petition GRANTED. 2019-6 LAFAYETTE SCHOOL CORPORATION - Multiple requests for property located at 3767 KENSINGTON DR: 1) Variance to allow a 49.77 SF freestanding sign instead of the allowed 20 SF. 2) Variance to ailow a 71.12 SF total sign area instead of the allowed 70 SF. Ms. Walder moved to hear and approve the petition, second by Mr. Williams. Joe Bumbieburg, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. The petitioners, Megan Hatke and Eric Rody, as well as another agent, Jovon Rayi, were also present. Mr. Bumbleburg began with introductions. Jovon Rayl is the architect for the new Glen Acres Elementary School, Megan Hatke is the principal, and Eric Rody is the Chief Financial Officer for the Lafayette School Corporation. Ms. Hatke stated that they are currently in a building that was built in 1970. They have had two additions. One was in 1986. The current building is about 50,000 square-feet. We are in the process of building a school on the same property that is over 80,000 square-feet. Ms. Hatke added that this wi!i allow us to do more than we have been able to do since I have been principal for the last seven years. We are excited about this and will be in there for the fail semester. Mr. Bumbleburg stated that the request is for a freestanding sign that is 49.77 square-feet, 20 is allowed. The total area for the sign lot is 71.12 square-feet instead of the required 70. These signs are typical for signs on schools throughout town. There is nothing unusual about this request. For this type of building, the ordinance Just doesn't work. What we are doing here is akin to what we have done in other places. The schoois have done a good Job of making there signs useful and not extraordinarily large. There is no harm to the community for any matter. Mr. Bumbieburg added that he has had one phone call regarding this petition and it was to discuss an issue unrelated to the petition itself. Mr. Bogan asked if the freestanding sign would create any concerns for the right-of-way or safety. Mr. Bumbleburg responded that it is not in any vision triangles and they did not have to ask for any setback variances for it. Secretary Griffee added that the new school orientation wil! improve the overall traffic conditions. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2) 4 yes O no. Petition GRANTED. The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 4:00 PM. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4:18 PM. Chprtfman Seer