Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION January 21, 2020 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Tracy Walder, Dave Williams, Jake Gray, and Dick Murray. The meeting was called to order by Dave Griffee. The first order of business being the election of officers for 2020, Secretary Griffee requested nominations for the board. Mr. Williams moved to cast a unanimous ballot to continue the same officers, Mr. Bogan and Ms. Walder, which was seconded by Mr. Gray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Jackson Bogan will be President of the Board for 2020 and Ms. Walder will be Vice President of the Board for 2020. Mr. Williams moved to approve Matthew Shively as Secretary, which was seconded by Mr. Gray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Mr. Shively will be Secretary of the Board for 2020. Mr. Williams moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Mr. Gray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 2019-30 Petition filed by DAVE BRINK for multiple requests for property located at 4713 MEIJER CT. 1) Variance to allow a total sign area of 473.04 SF instead of the allowed 40 SF. 2) Variance to allow a total freestanding sign area of 98 SF instead of the allowed 40 SF. 3) Variance to allow a freestanding sign setback of 8’ instead of the required 20’ This petition was continued from the November 18, 2019 meeting. Mr. Williams moved to continue the petition to the February 18, 2020 BZA hearing; second by Mr. Gray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS 2020-1 Petition filed by THOMAS R. BROWN for multiple requests for property located at 1501 CATULA AVE. 1) Variance to reduce the side yard setback (Catula Ave.) to 20’ instead of the required 25’. 2) Variance to reduce the rear yard setback to 20’ instead of the required 25’. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Gray. The petitioner, Thomas R. Brown, presented the petition. Mr. Brown passed out an aerial view of his property and surrounding properties. Mr. Brown stated that he was hoping to expand his single-car garage. He barely has room for his car and would like to extend his garage to the east by 7’. This addition would extend the existing single-family residence to within 20’ of his rear yard, which requires a 25’ setback. Also, this addition would be 20’ from Logan Ave. which requires a 25’ side setback. Mr. Brown asked if anyone had any questions for him. Ms. Walder asked for clarification on the setback variance request from Logan Ave. Mr. Shively explained that since the garage addition will not meet the required 25’ setback from Logan Ave., the additional variance is required to bring it into conformance. Ms. Walder asked if the side setback variance would bring the property into compliance and Mr. Shively said that would be the case. Ms. Walder asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to speak for or against the petition. Mr. Brown stated that he visited the properties he was required to notify. He spoke with 12 different people and none of them had any questions or concerns. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2020-2 Petition filed by RIGOBERTO GUADARRAMA for a variance to reduce the side yard setback (Elston Rd.) to 4’ instead of the required 40’. Property located at 2411 S. BECK LN. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Gray. The petitioner, Rigoberto Guadarrama, presented the petition. Mr. Guadarrama stated that he bought the single-family residence at this location last year and he was hoping to build an addition on the second floor over the existing footprint on the east side of the house. The required setback from Elston Rd. is 40’ but the existing footprint has a 4’ setback. Mr. Williams asked if the footprint would be changing at all and Mr. Guadarrama specified that the footprint would remain the same. Mr. Williams asked if the petitioner would need a variance for the setback from Beck Ln. Mr. Shively stated that the existing single-family residence does not meet the required setback from Beck Ln. but the addition meets the required setback. This is why a setback variance from Beck Ln. was not required. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2020-3 Petition filed by SPEEDWAY for multiple requests for property located at the NORTHWEST CORNER OF VETERANS MEMORIAL PKWY S AND SAGAMORE PKWY S. 1) Variance to allow a freestanding sign height of 29’-5” instead of the allowed 24’ (NORTH SIGN) - WITHDRAWN 2) Variance to allow a freestanding sign height of 29’-5” instead of the allowed 24’ (SOUTH SIGN) - WITHDRAWN 3) Variance to allow a freestanding sign area of 165 SF instead of the allowed 100 SF (NORTH SIGN) - WITHDRAWN  4) Variance to allow a freestanding sign area of 165 SF instead of the allowed 100 SF (SOUTH SIGN) - WITHDRAWN 5) Variance to allow a total sign area of 702 SF instead of the allowed 300 SF. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Gray. Eric Carter, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Members of the Speedway team were also present. Ms. Walder clarified that the first 4 requests had been withdrawn prior to the meeting and the remaining request was for a total sign area of 702 SF instead of the allowed 300 SF. Mr. Carter stated that Speedway is planning on moving into the northwest corner of Veterans Memorial Parkway and U.S. 52 with a new station. This station will not act as a truck stop. Mr. Carter provided the board with a slideshow of the site’s proposed signage and went over where all of the signage would be placed. Along with the proposed signage at the new Speedway location, Mr. Carter provided pictures of existing gas station signage in Lafayette that is similar to what they are requesting. Mr. Carter believes that the new Speedway will have comparable signage to other businesses in town. Mr. Gray asked about staff’s opinion since the first 4 requests were withdrawn and the total sign area request was decreased. Mr. Shively stated that the request is still quite a bit over what staff would be comfortable with. Mr. Griffee also stated that the examples of existing gas station signage that were presented are probably examples of non-compliant signage. Moving forward, however, this petition could illustrate what the city requires when it comes to signage. This petition could help with future code enforcement matters. Mr. Gray stated that he was not concerned with the signage in the pictures that were presented. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 4 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 4:00 PM. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4:25 PM. Chairman Secretary