Board of Zoning Appeals

AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF TIPPECANOE COUNTY LAFAYETTE DIVISION March 18,2024 The City of Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals met in regular session on Monday, March 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM. Members present were: Dave Williams, Dick Murray, and Carlynn Smith. Ms. Smith moved to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as distributed; second by Mr. Murray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 2024-3 7 VENTURE INC Variance to allow a total sign area of 135.4 SF instead of the allowed 99.4 SF. Property located at 3842 SOUTH ST. Secretary Griffee informed the Board that the petitioner had filed a formal request to withdraw this petition. PETITION WITHDRAWN NEW BUSINESS 2024-4 CLAIRE FREEMAN Variance to allow a 1' side yard setback instead of the required 5'. Property located at 649 PERRIN AVE. Ms. Smith moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. John Schrader, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. The petitioner, Claire Freeman, was also present. Mr. Schrader stated that the proposed variance is a reduced side setback on the right side of the property from 5-feet to 1-foot. This will allow the property owners to build an addition to their house. Internally, this will allow for modernization of the kitchen and to allow moving through the house easier. The addition is the least intrusive possible. The houses in this part of town are older housed on narrower lots. Mr. Schrader further discussed general information regarding the modernization of the house and discussed his submitted findings of fact. Mr. Murray asked for where the 1-foot dimension would be applied. Mr. Schrader responded that the measurement would be to the wall. Mr. Murray expressed a couple of concerns, one allowing a situation to be created that would require the owner to have to access the adjoining property to perform maintenance on this portion of the house. The second concern is if there is an overhang then rainwater is dumped directly onto the neighbor's property. Mr. Schrader said that the roof is sloped to collect rainfall front-to- back so that the rainfall will stay on the subject property. For future repairs, the lots are narrow but there is room to perform repairs. Mr. Murray stated that the addition is 20-feet long so it will not be possible for someone to work on that part of the building. Mr. Williams stated that the overhang may be right on the property line. Mr. Schrader stated that the design is for there not to be an overhang. Ms. Freeman stated that the neighbor has their entire side yard, there is no structure in the setback. Mr. Williams expressed similar concerns with the ability to maintain that was again reinforced by Mr. Murray. A general discussion followed regarding what would be an appropriate setback to be maintained. Mr. Schrader requested a continuance so that additional discussions by the petitioner's team, with City staff being made available for these discussions if requested, can be performed to re-present this next month. Ms. Smith moved to continue this petition to the next meeting. Second by Mr. Murray. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. PETITION CONTINUED 2024-5 UPPER MAIN DEVELOPMENT LLC Variance to allow 38 parking spaces instead of the required 57 spaces. Property located at 610 MAIN ST. Ms. Smith moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. Drew Tharp, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Tharp stated that the petitioner is in the process of redeveloping this existing space into a mixed used development including 38 studio apartments. Accordingly, they are anticipating single occupancy for these apartments and are requesting 38 parking spaces to serve those apartments. They also have reached an agreement to rent 38 parking spaces from the City at the parking garage at 7th Street and Columbia Street. Mr. Murray asked to confirm that there was an agreement with the City. Mr. Tharp confirmed there is agreement in principle. Mr. Williams aske if there was anything else to add. Mr Tharp responded that they have not successfully found other uses for this site, there is no demand for office space or broader retail space other than what is currently planned. The City is not wanting to purchase the building. Given the current demand and citing the new residential project, the Luna, across the street, they expect the residential component to be used and this is the preferred approach. Mr. Murray asked how we know that the agreement lasts forever. A general discussion about parking and past parking arrangements were presented by the petitioner and Dennis Carson, Economic Development Director for the City of Lafayette. Mr. Murray asked for clarification on enforcement and consequences of not providing the parking required. Secretary Griffee explained how enforcement would be performed by the Engineering Department and outlined an example of recent enforcement performed for a residential use that was approved by way of Planned Development document several years ago. Mr. Carson provided other examples of other parking agreements that have been made in the downtown area. The Board voted by ballot: 3 yes 0 no. PETITION GRANTED 2024-6 COMPASS FLATS LLC Multiple requests for property located southeast of the intersection of S GREASY LN and MCCARTY LN: 1) Variance to allow a 15' wide bufferyard instead of the required 30'. 2) Variance to allow 50% bufferyard planting quantity instead of the required 100%. 3) Variance to allow 40 bicycle parking spaces instead of the required 84 spaces. Ms. Smith moved to hear and approve the petition; second by Mr. Murray. Drew Tharp, agent for the petitioner, presented the petition. Mr. Tharp outlined the requests made by this petition. He stated that the bufferyard requirement is intended to benefit the subject property. In this case, it is essentially separating to parking lots, the Enterprise rental car lot and the site. There are already an ample amount of existing trees at this area. With the reduction, there will still be enough of a buffer at this location. Mr. Murray asked about the bufferyard exhibit. Secretary Griffee explained that the Engineering Department would require staggering of the proposed plantings, it would not allowed to be linear. A representative of Bennett's Greenhouse asked for clarification of the bufferyard location. Mr. Tharp showed the location based on the provided exhibits. Secretary Griffee explained that there is no bufferyard requirement along Greasy Lane and discussed the tree planting requirements for this project. Mr. Tharp explained that the first two requests are tied together. Regarding the bicycle parking, 84 spaces are required. Only 40 are needed. The apartments are large enough to store bicycles year-round. Mr. Murray asked what the target was for these apartments. Mr. Tharp replied that they are market rate. Mr. Murray asked why this requirement has come to light with this project, is there something different about this project. Mr. Tharp explained that they have worked on internal paths and other requirements that have taken some space. They believe the provided parking will be sufficient. The Board voted by ballot: 1) 3 yes 0 no. REQUEST GRANTED 2) 3 yes O no. REQUEST GRANTED 3) 3 yes O no. REQUEST GRANTED The next meeting of the Lafayette Board of Zoning Appeals will be on Monday, April 15, 2024 at 4:00 PM. There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4:37 PM.