Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION November 16, 2020 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Monday, November 16, 2020 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Jackson Bogan, Dave Williams, and Dick Murray. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Bogan. Mr. Williams moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Mr. Murray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS 2020-20 DAHM NO. 54, LLC Variance to increase the maximum sign area from 172 SF to 203.8 SF. Property located at 1805 Troxel Drive. WITHDRAWN Mr. Williams made a motion to withdraw BZA 2020-20 per the petitioner’s request; second by Mr. Murray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. 2020-18 KEVIN GILLESPIE Multiple requests for property located at 710 Wyandotte Avenue: 1) Variance to reduce the side yard setback to 1’ instead of the required 5’ 2) Variance to reduce the rear yard setback to 2’ instead of the required 10’ Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. Tom Gillespie, representative for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Gillespie said that due to staff recommendation, they would like to change the 1’ side yard setback request to a 2’ side yard setback request. Mr. Williams made a motion to amend the side yard setback request to 2’ instead of the original 1’; second by Mr. Murray. Mr. Gillespie stated that the existing garage is in the process of falling down so it needs replaced. The petitioner would like to build a larger new garage in essentially the same position as the existing garage. The existing garage is actually on the property line. Chris Shelmon of 620 Central Ave., a nearby neighbor, spoke in favor of the variances. He stated that multiple property owners in that area, himself included, have garages that sit on or near property lines. Staff also received a letter in favor of the variances from Jay Schlaifer of 701 Kossuth St. The main concern is the health of an existing sycamore tree that is close to the proposed garage site. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 3 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2) 3 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2020-19 REBAR DEVELOPMENT Variance to reduce the amount of required parking spaces from 150 spaces to 114 spaces. Property located at the northwest corner of Alabama Street and 5th Street. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. Chelsea Thompson, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Ms. Thompson stated that this parking request is for a new apartment building. Their project includes a parking garage, as well as new surface parking on the existing lot. They have an agreement with Regions Bank for the surface parking which will be shared between the apartment building and the bank. Rebar Development will maintain the lot. Dave Griffee stated that this is a significant project for the city and downtown. Mr. Griffee pointed out that since the Regions Bank is within a CB zone, they aren’t required to provide any off-street parking. Since Rebar Development is including Regions Bank on this project, the bank will have more parking than what is typically required. To clarify, Ms. Thompson stated that the new surface parking will be installed before any of the existing bank parking is demolished for this new project. The bank will keep the access to their drive-through services throughout the project. John Collier with the City of Lafayette Economic Development spoke in favor of the request. They believe the addition of residential units will have a positive impact on the downtown area. Mr. Collier also stated that the city will be constructing a new public safety building that will be providing roughly 500 new parking spaces. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 3 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. 2020-21 B&D ECHO INVESTMENTS, LLC Variance to reduce the amount of required parking spaces from 3 spaces to 2 spaces. Property located at 210 N 5th St. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. Chris Shelmon, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Shelmon stated that their proposal is to convert the upstairs to two residential units and the first floor will remain for commercial uses. They want to provide two parking spaces off-site but there would be one parking space for each unit. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 3 yes 0 no. Petition GRANTED. The Board reviewed the proposed 2021 BZA Calendar. Mr. Williams made a motion to approve the 2021 BZA Calendar as submitted; second by Mr. Murray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 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. Chairman Secretary