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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZA 02-27-23 City,ONI nw • of \ FOR !NDIANV _____,...„) Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals Regular Meeting Minutes Monday,February 27,2023 Location: Cannel City Hall Council Chambers,2'Flr., 1 Civic Sq.,Cannel,IN 46032 Members Present: Leo Dierckman(President),Brad Grabow,Jim Hawkins(Vice),Alan Potasnik,Leah York DOCS Staff Present: Mike Hollibaugh(Director);Angie Conn(Planning Administrator)Joe Shestak(Recording Secretary) Legal Counsel: Sergey Grechukhin,Allison Lynch-Mcgrath Time of Meeting: 6:00 PM Approval of Minutes and Findings of Facts from Previous Meeting: A Motion made by Hawkins and seconded by Grabow to approve the January 23,2023 BZA meeting minutes,and the fmdings of fact for PZ-2022-00243 V.Approved 5-0. Public Hearings: Leo:Explain the Rules of Procedure for a public hearing in front of the Cannel BZA. (UV,V)Insurance Office Variances. The applicant seeks the following use variance and development standards variance approvals: 1. Docket No. PZ-2022-00192 UV:UDO Section 2.03. Office use not allowed,Use variance requested. 2. Docket No. PZ-2022-00193 V: UDO Section 539.H.5.b.iii.Ground Sign type requested for residential structure converted to office. 3. Docket No. PZ-2022-00201 V: UDO Section 2.04. Minimum 40-ft front yard building setback required,31- Ift requested. 4. WITHDRAWN: The site is located at 4991 E. Main St.and is zoned S1/Residence. Filed by Misha Rabinowitch of Dinsmore Law Firm,on behalf Marshall Holdings LLC. Petitioner: Misha Rabinowitch • Elizabeth Marshall is a 2nd generation State Farm agent and has a repurposed residential home office location in Broad Ripple. Ms. Marshall has a Cannel location and plans to relocate that office to the subject site. • The current property owner at 4991 E. Main St.has permitted these requests.Ms. Marshall is not the current owner and is just under a purchase contract. • Presented current image of the home, it has been completely gutted and is in disrepair • Presented rendering of future home, we will rehabilitate the entire home and property. She will add landscaping and add a multi-use path along the street frontage and connect it to the existing multi-use path. • This proposal for this petition has changed immensely since the initial filing. We have listened and responded to the comments and concerns of the neighbors and Planning Staff. We now feel this is an overall better project. • Presented an aerial view, site plan, elevations, landscape plan • All of the parking has been moved behind the front elevation and will have landscaping to screen the parking.The number of parking spaces has been reduced from 17 to 13 spaces. • The petitioner anticipates 3-5 walk-in customers daily so we don't feel this will impact the traffic in this area • Staff are suggesting 11 parking spaces,with two of them being land-banked. We want to keep our spaces to 13. • Hardy plank cement board siding in white will be used as the building materials • Presented images of the two signs surrounding this site, Mark Badger sign is 3'x10',and CCS is 4'x15'. We are asking for a 20' sq. ft.for our ground sign—6.25' x 3.3'. We withdrew our variance for the additional sign. • None of the exterior lighting will bleed over the property lines. We have reduced the exterior lighting to knee- level landscape lighting,presented image of the landscape lighting fixtures • Conditions listed in Staff report; 1.)We can address all the TAC review comments.2.)We would like to keep parking to 13 spaces,and not 11 as suggested by Staff.3.)We want to keep sign lighting from 5am to 12am, instead of turning it off after hours.4.)We want our sign size to remain at 20 sq. ft. instead of 12 sq. ft. 1 BZA Meeting Minutes 2-27-23 Public Comments in Support: Joe Goralski,lives in the neighborhood across the street: What's a realistic option for this property?Dad's Club and CCS don't want it. This property has a minor appeal for a single-family homeowner. Who wants to live in a neighborhood of 1? A lot of investment is needed to restore the home and add to the landscape. I don't think this office use will negatively impact the surrounding property values. Matt Husband,Cannel resident: There's a real advantage if a business owner owns this home and property. Public Comments in Opposition: Carolyn Riggs,Trials of Avian Glen HOA: I submitted a letter. The Petitioner has amended their plans,but I still object. There's no true hardship faced by the Petitioner. I would argue the Petitioner's statement that this parcel is undesirable for residential uses.There are valuable and well-maintained residents along this street. There's nothing unique about this parcel. The reason why this has sold in the last two years is because it is being sold at 3-5 times the assessed value. This is a residential property;we are concerned about setting a precedent and this is a concern for the immediate neighbors. Stan Bass,Cannel Resident: The seller of the property is trying to get 3 times the value of this property.Only the way the seller can get 3 times the value of this property is to have the BZA approve the needed variances. The signs that are posted along this street are for places that are not for profit. John Fletcher,Trails of Avian Glen: I'm very concerned.This is a business.This is not zoned for commercial use. Traffic is unbearable in this area. This is a safety concern. This business should reside at 126th and Gray.If the Petitioner wants to live here and run a business,that's fine,but she said she won't be living here. Our property values will diminish. Rebuttal to Public Comments: Misha Rabinowitch: • This property has been on the market for 18 months and has been completely gutted from the inside. It does not have water or sewer utilities.All these make it very hard to rehabilitate as residential use. • Our hardship is with the context of the property. It's zoned residential but is in an area that is non-residentially used based upon the surrounding uses. • We are just asking for the one ground sign,and the State Farm vehicle does not count as signage under the UDO. We are committed to parking the State Farm vehicle in the last parking spot,farthest from the street. Department Report: Angie Conn: • If approved,this site will remain zoned residential,but only allow one office use,not retail use. • Per the Comprehensive Plan this office use can be a best fit next to institutional uses and parks and recreation uses. It's a conditional fit next to suburban residential uses if it is installed with sensitivity.In this case,distance and buffers help,as well as making the site residential in feel with the building architecture,landscaping,etc. • TAC reviewed this but there are remaining comments, so we would like to see that as a condition of approval • Staff is ok with the Petitioner's proposed ground sign size • Staff recommends positive consideration of the variance and use variance requests with the conditions listed in the Department Repot. • Staff recommends the Findings of Fact to be written up by the City Attorney Board Comments: Alan: Has this property ever been cited for violation?Angie Conn: Code Enforcement has worked with the current property owner in cleaning up the site.Code Enforcement knows that this hearing is pending and is waiting for the outcome of this petition to move forward with any additional violations.Alan: Aren't these health violations?Why prior to this hearing, it wasn't cited.Angie Conn: I am not familiar with the specifics,but Code Enforcement has been working with the current property owner to get them to clean up the site. Alan: Is the Department willing to enforce the parking of the State Farm marked vehicle in the last spot?Angie Conn: We would rely on phone calls and complaints from neighbors to report this to our Code Enforcement Department. Alan: Did the Cannel Dad's Club or Cannel Clay Schools weigh in this petition?Angie Conn: We did not receive any correspondence from them,but when this property was for sale,we did reach out to them about this property,and they had no interest in acquiring the property. 2 BZA Meeting Minutes 2-27-23 Leo:Asks Petitioner to show the aerial view of the surrounding area. You see there are standalone single-family homes in this area. ILeo: Is the Petitioner going to live here?Elizabeth Marshall: I will not be living here;this is just a business. Leo: How many employees will have?Elizabeth Marshall: Currently I have 3 employees. Leo: Do you need the 13 spaces? Elizabeth Marshall: I could see this office growing to 6-8 employees, plus I have an office in Broad Ripple with 6-8 employees. We have quarterly team meetings, so we need these spots, since there is no on-street parking. Also, one space will be for handicapped parking, and one spot for the company vehicle. Leo: What's the current sq. ft.,and what would be the new sq. ft.? Elizabeth Marshall: Currently 1,500 sq. ft, and we intend to have 3,000 sq. ft. usable space after the renovation. Leo: Are there plans for a decel lane into this site?Angie Conn: Engineering Dept. is in support and will require civil site plans after this meeting. They are not concerned about the level of traffic that would be generated from this site. Leo: I don't find a true hardship for this proposal. There's no requirement from the Petitioner that they need to use this space for their business. This can be utilized as a single-family home. If this site were commercial, I would like to see this Petition go in front of the Plan Commission. Brad: Did you consider having this property rezoned?Elizabeth Marshall: I was advised by Staff to go through the Use Variance process and not the rezone process. We did not go into this process knowing it would be so opposed by the neighbors. We felt this would be a low impact alternative use for this property. Jim: If this isn't residential or an office use, is there an ideal use for this?Angie Conn: Staff feels office use is a good fit. Someone prior to this proposed retail use and we decided to decline that proposal. Jim: Is the sign material, foam base,an acceptable part of the sign?Angie Conn: It was brought up by the Sign Administrator. It has foam, but coated with a hard surface, like EFIS. Jim: Would this go through additional ADLS Ireview and approval?Angie Conn: Staff did review the ADLS as part of this UV request.Jim: Is there any advantage to making an ADLS review/approval as a condition?Angie Conn: It's up to the Board to decide, but Staff is comfortable with the project as it is being proposed. Jim: How long has this property been vacant?Elizabeth Marshall: I don't know the exact time, but it is more than 18 months. Brad: Are Staff fine with the proposed number of parking spaces?Angie Conn: We are talking about 2 spaces. Staff are ok with 13 spaces after hearing the reasons they are stating now. Leo: How is there no water line or sewer line to this property?Elizabeth Marshall: There's a very old septic tank. There's no indication this septic tank could be revived. The water well on site is dry. We will work with the City to make the proper water and sewer connections. This would be another complication for a single-family homeowner. A Motion made by Grabow and seconded by Hawkins to approve PZ-2022-00192 UV,PZ-2022-00193 V,and PZ- 2022-00201 V with the Conditions: The Petitioner address all remaining TAC comments,the lighting on the ground sign is turned off after business hours,and adoption of the Findings of Fact to be prepared by the BZA Legal Counsel. Motion Denied 3-2,Grabow,Hawkins. (V) 530 2nd Ave NE Variances. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals for a new single-family house with attached garage: I 5. Docket No. PZ-2023-00002 V: UDO Section 3.64(C)(3).Maximum 45% lot cover allowed,49% requested. 6. Docket No. PZ-2023-00003 V: UDO Section 5.79(J). Window wells may encroach up to 24"into yard,36" encroachment requested into 5' wide side yard. 7. Docket No. PZ-2023-00017 V: UDO Section 3.64(C)(9). Minimum 8:12 roof pitch required,4:12 roof pitch requested. 3 BZA Meeting Minutes 2-27-23 The site is located at 530 2nd Ave NE(CW Weidler's Addition,Lot 31). The site is zoned R3/Residence and Old Town Overlay District-Character Subarea. Filed by Jon Dobosiewicz of Nelson&Frankenberger LLC,on behalf of Wedgewood Building Company LLC. Petitioner: Jon Dobosiewicz: • Present with me tonight are members of the Wedgewood Building Company • Presented aerial view, site plan,front elevation • This custom home is being designed to be handicap accessible. The driveway is being extended from the alley to accommodate the existing slope and to have better access to this home.If the driveway was smaller,then the lot cover variance would not be needed. • Wider window wells were requested to meet the egress requirements for a bedroom in the basement and to allow for more natural light to enter the basement common room • The 4:12 roof pitch falls in line with a prairie-style architecture which will help to add diversity to the area • The applicant met with the surrounding homeowners prior to our required public notice to share their plans Public Comments: None Department Report: Angie Conn: • Staff recommends positive consideration of the variances with the adoption of the Petitioner's Findings of Fact Board Comments: Leah: Explain the request of the window-well size?How much would it encroach in the sideyard?Jon Dobosiewicz: By 36"into 5' sideyard.This same variance was requested and approved for the existing home on the lot to the north. The homeowner requested a larger window well to allow more natural light in and to allow for an egress exit for the basement bedroom. A Motion made by Potasnik and seconded by Grabow to approve Docket Nos. PZ-2023-00002 V,PZ-2023-00003 V, PZ-2023-00017 V. Approved 5-0. Meeting adjourned 7:07 p.m. 64eNC., Leo Dierckman—President oe Shestak—Recording Secretary 4 BZA Meeting Minutes 2-27-23