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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes BZA 10-28-14of CA s `euic,' N(11tNUM' City of Camel �NDIANp '� MINUTES Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 28, 2014 6 :00 p.m. Council Chambers, Carmel City Hall Present: James Hawkins, President Leo Dierckman Dennis Lockwood Earlene Plavchak Alan Potasnik Connie Tingley, Recording Secretary Maggie Crediford, Recording Secretary Staff members in attendance: Alexia Lopez, Planning Administrator Mike Hollibaugh, Director, Dept. of Community Services Legal Counsel: John Molitor Previous Minutes: On a motion made by Earlene Plavchak and seconded by James Hawkins: The Minutes for the meeting dated September 22, 2014, were approved as circulated. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Department Report: Alexia Lopez: ® Nothing to report Legal Council Report: John Molitor: • Recommended moving his report to end of meeting to discuss change to Rules of Procedure Public Hearing: 1 -4. (V) Wendy's Remodel Signage. The applicant, seeks the following variances for new and existing signs: Docket No. 14080008 V ZO CH 25.07.02 -03.b: Number of Signs, 2 allowed, 3 requested Docket No. 14080009 V ZO CH 25.07.02- 03.c.4.a: Maximum Sign area Docket No. 14080010 V ZO CH 25.07.02 -06.c: 30 sq.ft. Max Sign Area for Menu Board. Docket No. 14080011 V ZO CH 25.07.02 -06.d: 6 ft Max Height for Menu Board The site is located at 2370 E. 1161h St. It is zoned B -8 /Business. Filed by Don Fisher of Insight Engineering, Inc. WWW.CARMEL.IN.GOV Page 1 of 5 (317) 571 -2417 Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals October 28, 2014 Meeting Present for Petitioner: Don Fisher, Insight Engineering • Site constructed in 1979 • Want to update to current national appearance • Worked with Special Studies Committee and Staff for remodel approval • Change most of exterior of building, including signage • Re- positioned signs, with help of Committee, to be more integrated with building • New plans shown • Two of the signs exceed allowed height percentage (70 %) ■ One is 71 % and one is 75% of panel ■ Panel is louvered area; matching surrounding panels • Building has two signs with Variances allowing more square footage than allowed per the Ordinance o Instead of two larger signs that would be allowed (East and South); would like to reduce size of signs to put third sign on West face • Location indicated from street looking east toward Wendy's • Visible above landscaping for new Einstein Bagels • Menu board did not receive permit under previous ownership • Photo shown • Trying to correct error and apply for permit • Taller than permitted (6 feet) • Square footage more than permitted (30 square feet permitted) • Requires two variances to keep current menu board Public Hearing closed Department Report: Alexia Lopez • Petitioner received ADLS approval for remodel • Variances for additional sign, larger signs than permitted and larger menu board • One wall sign approximately 32 square feet • Other two approximately 22 square feet ■ Need variance for height ■ Modest in size and should not have negative effect on surrounding properties Petitioner worked well with ADLS approval process o Some constraints on building for location of signs ■ Creating practical difficulty for size of signs • Signs will look proportionate on building • Support additional sign and size of signs • Menu board larger than would be permitted (50 square feet requested, 30 square feet permitted) o Also taller than permitted o Recommend removing top portion of menu board • Would reduce size and height • Looks more like advertising than menu board o Need to add masonry base to menu board, per the Ordinance, to keep existing menu board Department recommended positive consideration Discussion: • Top part looks like advertisement Page 2 of 5 Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals October 28, 2014 Meeting • Would prefer not to remove that portion • Top is used for special sandwich promotions o If removed, would meet height requirement, but still exceed permitted area • Photos of other menu boards shown • Popeye's has same feature on top • Pictures and prices, same as Wendy's • Taco Bell has sign on top with Bell • Panera and McDonald's do not have anything on top • KFC has large feature on top • Planning to use menu board just as it is ■ Staff pointed out it does not have permit • Special promotion for Scooby Doo Kid's meal on lower right ■ Looks like attached banner o Preference of owner is to not modify menu board • Environmentally friendly to not take everything down; less building materials o Spending more money not tearing building down • Current menu board is same as new "standard" for Wendy's o Same as menu board at new Wendy's • Masonry base is required on any new menu boards • Variance for existing menu board • Would like them to add masonry base if variance is approved ■ Would be in compliance with Ordinance • Menu board is behind building • Views of building shown o Menu board not visible from 116`h Street • View of menu board from Keystone is blocked by building to east • Adding landscaping on north between Keystone Way East Drive and the parking lot (removing concrete slab) • Appears to be close to driveway • Sign right on edge of curb • Landscape bed mounds almost up to sign • McDonald's has stacked stone so they can get to electronics that come up through the base • Wendy's menu board has electrical control panel on back of base • That would be issue for large solid masonry base • Panera has concrete slab • KFC has masonry base • Various menu boards shown • Recently remodeled Einstein Bagels has metal base • Masonry base would obscure ability to maintain sign • Wendy's built in 1979 • This is not original menu board • Solariums added in 1984 • Menu board is newer than solariums Steve Socrates, Division Vice President for Trident Foods • Been responsible for that restaurant for 12 years • That menu board style is about 2.5 years old o Latest Wendy's model available o Upgrading to that in all restaurants Page 3 of 5 Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals October 28, 2014 Meeting • There is no permit on file ■ Wanted them to bring menu board into compliance with all the remodeling • Landscaping could mitigate view of menu board • Can only see menu board when on Wendy's site • Landscaping in place of concrete slab is an improvement of external view Motion: On a motion made by James Hawkins and seconded by Alan Potasnik: Docket Nos. 14080008 V through 14080011 V; Wendy's Remodel Signage, be approved for number of signs (2 allowed, 3 requested); maximum sign area; 30 square feet maximum sign area for menu board and 6 -foot maximum height for menu board. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Mr. Dierckman left. Legal Council Report: John Molitor: • Recommended change to Rules of Procedure o Legislation at last year's General Assembly addressed topic of Commitments in respect to if a property gets annexed into a City and previous Commitments had been made to a County ■ When it becomes part of City, what becomes of the Commitments? • Did not affect Carmel Had a couple of Commitment Amendments in Plan Commission in recent months • One for mistake made during construction of home that did not comply with Commitments • One had become obsolete • No one asked what criteria should be considered for amendment ■ Nothing in Statute states what the criteria should be when a Petitioner asks to modify Commitment • Nothing in Rules or Ordinance • Statute does allow them to pass rules providing for the situation o Propose change to Section E final sentence: ■ "Pursuant to I.C. 36- 7- 4- 1015(c), the BZA hereby declares that the criteria to be considered when an owner applies for a modification or termination of a commitment are the same criteria that applied when the BZA (or Hearing Officer) granted its conditional approval." • Example: If a Commitment was made on the Wendy's sign and they came back and said this does not work. We want to get modifications. The Board would consider the same three criteria as considered for original request for variance. With a gap in Statue or Rules, if one of these would be contested and go to Court, he did not know how to argue the case in Court. • There would be no Findings of Fact to consider. Change would make it same criteria as when the variance first came through. Discussion: • If the Board made changes in Findings of Fact, decision would be made on those • Typically Petitioners will present proposed Findings of Fact with application • Becomes issues when Board denies variance or special use request Page 4 of 5 Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals October 28, 2014 Meeting Then work with remonstrators to create Findings of Fact that would be defensible if the Board ended up in Court If Wendy's would come back and say landscaping would not work in that area, they would ask for modification or termination The Board would have to find that they agree it would not work in that situation This is the way it has been all these years o Commitments are fairly new • Carmel has been using them in last five to ten years; most communities have not • Getting more wide - spread around the State • No case law yet; do not want to be sued because there is not criteria o Consensus was not to go back to Legislature to create criteria/law • Mr. Hollibaugh stated Department has worked with Mr. Molitor and follow his lead Motion: On a motion made by James Hawkins and seconded by Earlene Plavchak: To accept recommendation dated October 28, 2014, to amend Article IV, Section 2 of the BZA Rules of Procedure shall be amended to read as the document indicates, as well as Article B and C. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Adjournment: Motion: On a motion made by James Hawkins and seconded by Alan Potasnik: The Meeting be adjourned. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m. k4- vembcoK Approved this day of 2014. Pr dent — James fiawkins 1 Page 5 of 5 MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY G f Secretary — Co e T' gley Filename: 10.28.2014 regular meeting.doc 1 1