Planning Commission Meeting

MINUTES OF MEETING INDIAN HILL PLANNING COMMISSION July 16, 2025 The regular meeting of the Indian Hill Planning Commission was held on July 16, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers of the Village Administration building. Members Present: Rita Stolper Joseph Rhodenbaugh Shayne Manning Don McGraw Robert Schilling, Planning Commission alternate Members Absent: None Officials Present: Jonathan West, Assistant City Manager Visitors Present: Gary & Nancy Janning, 6830 Tupelo Lane Jacob Shepherd, 8475 Indian Hill Road Mrs. Stolper asks for anyone planning to speak this evening to please stand, raise their right hand, and be sworn in prior to presentation of the cases. Item Number 1: Minutes and findings from the May 21, 2025 Indian Hill Planning Commission meeting: Mr. Rhodenbaugh made a motion to approve the minutes and findings. Mr. Manning seconded, and the motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Item Number 2: Case #25-007: Gary and Nancy Janning are requesting a variance from Section 73.1 of the Indian Hill Zoning Ordinance to reduce the rear setback for a covered deck addition. The subject property is located at 6830 Tupelo Lane. Mr. Schilling is abstaining from the case due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Gary Janning, residing at 6830 Tupelo Lane, comes before the Commission and states that they are wanting to put a partial roof over a portion of the deck. Staff Report: Mr. West reviews relevant property history as follows: • June 16, 2020 – The Planning Commission granted a variance to the rear yard setback to permit construction of a new single-family home in place of the existing home. The existing non-conforming setback of the home was 66.3', and the existing non-conforming setback of the deck was 61'. The variance to the rear yard setback was granted due to the proposed single-family home and deck not worsening the existing non-conforming setbacks. Village of Indian Hill Minutes of Planning Commission Meeting July 16, 2025 Page 2 • May 3, 2022 – A site clearance release permit was issued for a new single-family residence and deck. Mr. West describes the subject property as being located on the east side of Tupelo Lane in zoning District “C” – one acre minimum and containing 1.3802 acres. The existing home (built in 2022) was approved for a variance to be 66.3' from the rear property line, and the deck was approved to be 61' from the rear property line. The variance approval was based on the new home not worsening the existing non- conforming conditions from the home built in 1958. The property backs up to the Village owned green area property that surrounds the Indian Hill High School and Middle School. The applicant is requesting variance approval to construct a roof over a portion of the existing deck. The setback proposed is 61' measured to the roof support posts. Section 57.221 allows roof eaves and gutters to extend into the setback up to 3' to match the existing conditions of the home. The eaves and gutters are proposed at 2.5' to match the existing home. Section 73.1 of the Indian Hill Zoning Ordinance requires a 75' setback. A variance was approved in 2022 to permit the house at a 66.3' setback and the deck at a 61' setback to the rear property line. The variance application is based on exceptional practical difficulty created by the existing home and deck which were based on the non-conforming home constructed in 1958. Mr. West notes that the four variance review criteria were listed in the staff report previously distributed to the Planning Commission and available this evening. Staff posted the legal notice in the paper and by direct mail prior to the hearing. Staff has not been contacted regarding the request. Discussion followed regarding the structure and the distance of the eaves and gutters to the street. Mrs. Janning reminds the Commission that the proposed request is on the back of the house. Behind their property is green space and on one side is property they own which is all woods. You can’t see the deck from the front and on the other side is one house, but this end of the deck is not visible from the neighbor’s property. After brief discussion, Mr. Manning made a motion to approve the requested variance as submitted. Mr. McGraw seconded, and the motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote with all voting members in favor of approval. Village of Indian Hill Minutes of Planning Commission Meeting July 16, 2025 Page 3 Item Number 3: Case #25-008: Jacob Shepherd is requesting a variance from Section 63.2 of the Indian Hill Zoning Ordinance to reduce the side yard setback for the construction of a new garage in the same location as the former barn. The subject property is located at 8475 Indian Hill Road. Mr. Jacob Shepherd, at 8475 Indian Hill Road, comes before the Commission and states that when he purchased the house two years ago there was a barn in the same location as the requested garage. Due to the barn being dilapidated, it has been razed; however, the foundation remains. He adds that he’s requesting to build the garage in the exact same location. Mr. Shepherd comments that the proposed garage will house seven cars, include an HVAC unit, and be drywalled. Staff Report: Mr. West states that the subject property is located on the south side of Indian Hill Road between Drake Road and Voorhees Drive. The property to the east is Radio Range Park. The property is located in zoning District “B” – three acre minimum and contains 3.941 acres. The existing barn (believed to be built prior to the adoption of zoning in 1945) was non-conforming due to not meeting the required side yard setback requirement. The existing barn was located 4.5' from the east side lot line (Radio Range Park property) where 20' minimum is required. The property owner recently razed the barn and was preparing for construction of the new garage. He was not aware of the setback requirement and thought he would be able to build the new garage in the same location. A portion of the foundation from the barn still remains, and the barn still appears on the Spring 2025 aerial photo from CAGIS. The applicant is requesting variance approval to construct a new 30'x50' (1500 SF) garage in the same location as the former 1600 SF barn setback 4.5' from the east side lot line where 20' minimum is required per Section 63.2 of the Indian Hill Zoning Ordinance. The proposed garage would not worsen the non-conforming barn side setback of 4.5'. The variance application is based on exceptional practical difficulty created by the non- conforming barn. Mr. West notes that the four variance review criteria were listed in the staff report previously distributed to the Planning Commission and available this evening. Staff posted the legal notice in the paper and by direct mail prior to the hearing. Staff was contacted by one adjacent property owner who was asking for details on the variance. After reviewing the plans, they did not have any issues with the variance request. Village of Indian Hill Minutes of Planning Commission Meeting July 16, 2025 Page 4 Mr. Rhodenbaugh comments that he’s in favor of approving the request because the area is heavily screened by mature pine trees and because the property behind this area is and will always be a park. After brief discussion, Mr. McGraw made a motion to approve the request. Mr. Manning seconded, and the motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote. There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mr. McGraw made a motion to adjourn. Mrs. Stolper seconded, and the motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Rita Stolper, Chairperson ATTEST: Jonathan D. West, Secretary Pro-tem