Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION September 18, 2023 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Monday, September 18,2023 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Jackson Bogan, Dave Williams, Dick Murray, Bob Metzger, and Carlynn Smith. Mr. Williams moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Mr. Metzger. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 2023-16 BRW I LLC Multiple requests for property located at 1400 BROADWAY ST: 1) Variance to allow a side frontage setback of 10' instead of the required 25'. 2) Variance to allow 3 off-street parking spaces instead of the required 4 spaces. 3) Variance to allow a lot width of 52.98' instead of the required 60'. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Metzger. Chris Shelmon, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Shelmon stated that the petition involves two lots located on Broadway Street. Existing are two substandard, nonconforming lots from the old subdivision. The site has quite a bit of fall. The goal is to fit two duplexes. Given the topography and the location of the lot lines, the variances will allow the construction of two duplexes. These will be two-bedroom duplexes. They do not anticipate a significant amount of vehicles. The existing duplexes immediately to the south have one parking space per unit. Mr. Shelmon continued that the setback from the street really isn't a setback from the street itself. The setback from the lot line from the front is actually more like 50 feet from the road itself. Mr. Bogan asked for clarification about the parking to the south and the amount of parking to be provided with this site. Mr. Shelmon clarified that he was referring to neighboring properties and that they will be providing a total of seven parking spaces for two duplexes. Mr. Murray clarified the actual location of the site and disputed the amount of parking provided by the neighbors, they provide two spaces per unit. Mr. Murray measured the street, it is 20-feet wide. He has been in the area and there is not much parking on the street, it is not wide enough. Parking on the street is going to create a safety hazard. Mr. Murray also stated that he does not want to create a situation where people start parking on the grass. Mr. Shelmon also pointed out the size of the duplexes and the number of bedrooms to be provided. The developers anticipate that the seven spaces will be enough for their needs. Mr. Murray stated that there just isn't any other place for people to park. Secretary Griffee provided clarification that the petition is specific to Lot 84, 1400 Broadway Street. The adjacent lot was initially included in the petition for a fourth request, but it was determined that request was not necessary and it was withdrawn from the petition. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 5 yes 0 no. REQUEST GRANTED 2) 4 yes 1 no. REQUEST GRANTED 3) 5 yes 0 no. REQUEST GRANTED NEW BUSINESS 2023-17 John Purdue Block Partners Variance to allow 154 off-street parking spaces instead of the required 241 parking spaces. Property located at 22 N 2ND ST. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Metzger. Chris Shelmon, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Shelmon stated that this project is a joint venture. The proposed project is a six-story building with a two- story podium. The podium will include a parking garage. They will be providing a total of 154 parking spaces. They are proposing to keep the two existing apartments in the John Purdue building. One of those is a three-bedroom unit and that will be the only three-bedroom unit for the project. There will be commercial space and a leasing office. The project will be built around and will feature the John Purdue building. It will have a warehouse style similar to the old factories previously in this area. The amount of parking provided will be one space per unit. It will be mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments. There are 36 two-bedroom units proposed. Mr. Shelmon continued that they hope to provide some density and more life and people into this area. Dennis Carson, Economic Director for the City of Lafayette, spoke in favor of the petition. The Board voted by ballot: 5 yes 0 no. PETITION GRANTED 2023-18 Robert A. Burton Jr. and Sheila A Burton Variance to allow a maximum building coverage of 37.5% instead of the required 35%. Property located at 1522 CENTRAL ST. Mr. Williams moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Metzger. Brad Neely, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Neely stated that the petitioners are Sheila and Robert Burton. This property is their primary residence. They have been the owners of the property since 1993. They do not have any plans to sell. There currently is no garage or driveway. The only parking available is street parking. They intend to construct a two-car detached garage on the rear of the property. They have multiple incidents where their cars have been damaged when parking on the street. The road is narrow so there is also a safety concern. They do want to get the parking off the street. The house was built in 1920 so it is difficult to mitigate the building area needed to do this. The Board voted by ballot: 5 yes 0 no. PETITION GRANTED The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Monday, October 16, 2023 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. Secretary