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CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS | REGULAR MEETING
DEPARTMENT REPORT
MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2022
(V) Oberweis – That Burger Joint – Woodgrain Pizzeria Variances.
The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals:
7. Docket No. PZ-2022-00074 V UDO Section 3.95.F Drive Thru Location: Must be located
to the rear of the parcel, Site has three frontages therefore this requirement cannot be met.
8. Docket No. PZ-2022-00075 V UDO Section 3.88.C Building Height: Max. 20’ allowed
when adjacent to residential, 21’ to 25’8” requested.
9. Docket No. PZ-2022-00077 V UDO Section 5.39.H.2.a Number of Signs: 5 requested, 3
allowed. The 1.15-acre site is located at 10920 N. Michigan Road, at the southwest corner of Weston
Pointe Blvd. and Michigan Rd./US 421. It is zoned B3/Business and US 421 Overlay Zone. Filed by
Joe Oberweis, owner.
General Info & Analysis:
Introduction: The Petitioner proposes a new three-in-one restaurant concept with dine in and drive thru options
on 1.3 acres of land. To the west is the Aria Apartment project owned by Cityscape Residential and located in
Zionsville (Boone Co.). North across Weston Pointe Drive is a multi-tenant retail building, zoned B3 and within
the US 421 Overlay. Immediately adjacent to the south is Kindercare, and further south is Christian Bros.
Automotive site. Both are zoned B3 and in the US 421 Overlay. To the east across Michigan Road are
additional outlots and multi-tenant retail buildings that are zoned B2 and also within the US 421 Overlay Zone.
The site plan, architecture design, landscaping, lighting, and signage was reviewed/approved by the Plan
Commission under Docket No. Docket No. PZ-2021-00139 DP/ADLS.
BZA variance approvals are being sought are for the drive thru location, building height, and number of signs.
Please view the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail on the variance requests.
Site Plan, Parking, and Engineering: The Petitioner proposes a restaurant with drive thru. This site is on the
west side of Michigan Rd., adjacent to the Boone County border. This is one of four outlots created through the
Michigan Road Retail project (Docket No. 19020009 DP/ADLS). Weston Pointe Drive (north) and Redd Road
(west) are both now complete, providing vehicular and pedestrian access from Bennett Parkway to 106th Street.
The Petitioner needs to seek variance approval for the location of the drive thru being visible from the front
yard/adjacent streets. This site has three street frontages; hence three front yards. The Petitioner has worked
with Planning Staff on the placement of the drive-thru, and staff is supportive of the needed variance, as there
really is no way to be compliant with this variance. There is a true hardship and practical difficulty.
The main vehicular entrance for the restaurant is on the west side of their parcel off Redd Road and will be a
shared access with Kindercare to the south.
Drainage for this site is coordinated through planned detention for the Aria apartments project to the west of this
site in Zionsville’s jurisdiction. The detention will be coordinated and provided for all the outlots in conjunction
with the installation of Redd Road by the property owner, Cityscape Residential.
Architectural Design: Staff worked with the Petitioner on the design of the building for quite some time, to get
it where it meets the US 421 corridor standards. The architect designed the building to be complementary to the
Italianate architectural style. Some of these features are the dentil molding, enhanced brick detailing around the
pilasters of the front entry, symmetrical form of the building and window placement. The building will be
constructed of three colors of brick (red, brown, and tan) with a concrete masonry unit (CMU) block base in a
tan color. Stone will be used on the south end of the building as an accent material near the cornice. EIFS will
be used for the cornices and is less than 10% of the overall façade area. The height of the building ranges from
21’ to 25’8”. The US 421 Overlay specifies that the maximum height allowed adjacent to residential land uses
is 20’. A variance will be needed for the slight increase, and Planning Staff is supportive of this. One other item
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to note on the building design is the very large window above the main entry. This entry feature has been
worked many times over. It is now in line with the rest of the building design. Within the window is a space for
advertising materials. The wall for the advertising materials will be located 3’ behind the window face. If
signage is utilized in this space, it would be considered part of the interior of the building and would be allowed.
Signage: This site fronts on three public streets; therefore, three signs are allowed. This is a single use building
with a food court style (3 types of food) restaurant, thus the reason a sign is proposed for each “tenant.” Four
wall signs are proposed as well as one ground sign (5 total proposed signs). This will require variance approval
for the number of signs, since only three signs are allowed by right. Menu board dimensions have been provided
and are in compliance with the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance). A menu board is allowed in addition to
the main identification sign allowed for the site. Directional signage is also allowed as long as it is 3’ tall and 3
sq. ft. or less in area (which it is).
The Petitioner addressed all planning/zoning review comments. The Planning Dept. supports the variance
requests.
Findings of Fact:
Please refer to the petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet.
Recommendation:
The Dept. of Community Services (DOCS) recommends positive consideration of Docket Nos. PZ-2022-
00074 V, PZ-2022-00075 V, and PZ-2022-00077 V, with adoption of the findings of fact submitted by the
Petitioner.