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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZA 10-23-23 Ali • e .C"( Cityof C 111 Board of Zoning Appeals Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, October 23,2023 Location: Carmel City Hall Council Chambers,2' Flr., 1 Civic Sq.,Carmel, IN 46032 Members Present: Brad Grabow,Jim Hawkins,Alan Potasnik,John Schuler,Leah York DOCS Staff Present: Angie Conn(Planning Administrator), Mike Hollibaugh(Director),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 Grabow and seconded by Potasnik to approve the Sept.27 BZA Meeting Minutes.Approved 5-0. Reports,Announcements,Legal Counsel Report,and Department Concerns 1. BZA Rules of Procedure Suspension Request for Meyer Outdoor Fireplace Variance: Angie Conn: The Petitioner had their legal ad publication done 13 days prior,rather than the 20-day BZA requirement. This meets state statue of 10 days, and this is in fault of the newspaper. A Motion made by Grabow and seconded by York to suspend the BZA Rules of Procedure.Approved 5-0. Public Hearings TABLED TO NOV.27- (UV) Crazy King Burrito Use Variance. The a plicant seeks the f flowing, mil• 1. Doeke*i No.PZ 2023 f10142 14V UDO Seetion 2.39 Restaurant with drive thru and/or walk f Corridor. Filed by Paul Gicfing,owner. (UV,V)Rosie's Gardens Expansion. The applicant seeks the following use variance and development standards variance approvals: 2. Docket No.PZ-2023-00198 UV UDO Section 3.01 Prohibited Uses—Storage and/or Warehousing Outdoor prohibited—existing and proposed/requested. 3. Docket No.PZ-2023-00200 V UDO Section 3.14.A.1 No parking allowed in the Front Yard, Parking exists currently. 4. Docket No.PZ-2023-00201 V UDO Section 5.39.H.2.a Number of signs—1 sign per street frontage allowed,3 existing and 4 requested. The site is located at 10402 N. College Ave. It is zoned B3/Business and Homeplace Business Overlay District. Filed by Andrew Wert of Church Church Hittle& Antrum, on behalf of Lawrence Hughes, owner. Petitioner: Andrew Wert: • Received Plan Commission DP and ADLS approvals of the expansion of the parking lot and retail store • Rezone was approved by City Council to rezone the entire property as a B-3 zoning district • Expanding the front parking lot,this will encroach into the front setback • We removed 3 signs,will leave one existing sign on our stone wall. We feel this is an important aesthetic of the business. The new monument sign will be spot lit from the ground,with masonry and landscape at the base. Public Comments: None IDepartment Report: Angie Conn: • The Plan Commission has already approved this site expansion, landscaping,architecture, and signage • Planning Staff is supportive of the UV and Variance requests and recommend positive consideration • The Petitioner was able to remove some of the excess signage that wasn't allowed per the UDO 1 BZA Meeting Minutes 10-23-23 Board Comments: Grabow: Is the parking lot currently encroaching into the front setback?Angie Conn: This variance request brings the existing front parking lot into compliance with today's standards. Potasnik: The new sign will be 6-ft tall,and around 27 sq. ft. It will be located 5-ft from the street ROW.Does this comply with the sign ordinance?Angie Conn: It complies and was reviewed by our Planning Staff. The location of the sign does not need additional approval from the BPW. Hawkins: The lower portion of the sign that displays"sales"are those letters LED lighting?Andrew Wert:No, it's just changeable text. A Motion made by Grabow and seconded by Potasnik to approve Docket Nos PZ-2023-00198 UV,PZ-2023-00200 V,and PZ-2023-00201 V.Approved 5-0. WITHDRAWN-(V)Woodland Country Club Transportation Plan Variance. 5. (V)Meyer Outdoor Fireplace Variance. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approval: 6. Docket No.PZ-2023-00211 V UDO Section 5.02 Minimum 5-ft side/rear yard setback for accessory structures required, 1-ft requested. The site is located at 11179 Westminster Way and is zoned S2/Residence(Kingswood Subdivision Lot 19).Filed by Jared&Kyra Meyer,owners. Petitioner:Jared Meyer: • Purchased this property in July 2022,and there was an existing exterior fireplace that was purchased and built by the previous owners • With the sale of this home,they disclosed they were going through the variance process with the City. The previous homeowners then decided not to complete the variance process when they sold the house,and now we, the current homeowners are going through the variance process. • It was disclosed at the sale of this home that the variance is needed,and the HOA was not pursuing any action with the fireplace. We were told yesterday by the HOA that they disagree with this. We never received any notification from the HOA.The HOA told us they sent us an email in March 2023.I can confirm that I never received that email,and I asked the HOA to provide us with proof they sent it,and they have not. • We are asking the BZA to look at our variance request, separate from any HOA violations Public Comments: Keith Sims,Westminster Way: I am the next-door neighbor and the one most impacted by this fireplace.They have lived here for 1.5 years,and I've only had one conversation about the fireplace when the petitioner asked me to sign their public notice variance notification. The Meyer's have misconstrued this situation.They have made false statements on their application.In March 2023,the City was aware of this situation.Provided documentation of Code Enforcement violations from the City of Carmel. We have been very consistent with our opposition.When the first brick was down,I spoke to the previous homeowner and told him I didn't want this fireplace this close to my home.It is about 14-ft from my house.I would be fine if it was located on the other side of their patio.The previous homeowner told me they had HOA approval and a building permit from the City. These were both lies. We watched fire embers land on our roof and the upstairs of our house gets smokey if our windows are open. The Meyer's received a substantial discount on the price of their home since they would have to deal with the variance or move the fireplace. This is too close to my home and creates a fire hazard. 2 BZA Meeting Minutes 10-23-23 Sean Burker,attorney for the Sims family: We believe the Department Report was based upon inaccurate facts from the previous homeowner and current homeowner. We believe all the City Code issues have not been addressed.We are asking for this variance to be denied,or to continue this until all of the facts are presented.The fire is the problem here, and not the encroachment of this fireplace structure. The City Code recognizes that fire is a safety hazard,and smoke is a health hazard.Presents City Code. Campfires must be at least 25-ft from any combustible structure.We believe the variance is not well taken in this analysis. Sims are dealing with a known health and safety issue. Josh Corwin,Kingswood Drive.I'm the president of the HOA.The previous homeowner who built the fireplace was an angry neighbor and built it out of anger to get back with us. This structure clearly violates our HOA covenants on heights, setbacks,and appearance(color doesn't match the house).The seller deceived the Meyers. I don't think the homeowner knew there was a covenant violation when he submitted his variance application.If this variance is granted,then this could set a precedent for the entire neighborhood.We are extremely sympathetic to this situation. Rebuttal to Public Comments:Jared Meyer: • As we have gone through this process,I'm not an expert in the City Code requirements.We worked with Code Enforcement in what this structure is in violation of,and we were told it was the 5-ft side yard setback was in violation.We were told by Code Enforcement that we could reduce the height of the fireplace to less than 6-ft and could be acceptable to where it is.The statement that we received a discount because we would then have to go through the variance process is completely false. We paid the market price for this home. Department Report: Angie Conn: • This request is for an outdoor fireplace structure,and not an open fire pit or campfire, so this does not apply to the City's open burning ordinance • Staff is in support of this 4-ft setback variance request • Code Enforcement Staff is present at tonight's meeting to answer any questions about the ongoing case • This is more of an issue that the HOA's private covenants and restrictions need to be addressed between the HOA and the homeowner. Board Comments: Potasnik: I don't know why we are hearing this.This is strictly an issue between the homeowner and the HOA.When did Mr.Meyer purchase the property?Were you given a copy of the HOA covenants?Jared Meyer:June 2022. We were given a copy of the covenants and did not read through them. Potasnik:Mr. Corwin,are you familiar with the covenants.Is this fireplace in violation?Josh Corwin: Yes, is it in violation of the covenants.Potasnik: Then this is an issue between the HOA and the homeowner,and the HOA needs to seek legal guidance.Josh Corwin: I completely agree with you,we wanted to be here to represent the HOA. Grabow: Was there any written communication from the HOA to the previous homeowner and HOA?Josh Corwin: I was not on the HOA at the time. Sheryl Wessel,Kingswood HOA: In March 2022 a violation notice was sent to the previous homeowner stating seven violations were in place. Grabow: Did the HOA put a lien the property?Sheryl Wessel: We did not.We didn't want to invest a lot of time and money until we knew were the City would support us. Grabow: If the public record of this property wasn't reported as non-compliance,then the Title Company or any potential buyer would have no knowledge of this. Sean Burke:A violation email from Jan. 18,2022,was provided to the previous owner from the Kingswood HOA. Grabow: This still doesn't put the buyer on notice of this violation. Sean Burke: Our HOA's Treasurer provided the Title Company at closing that there's an open violation on this property.Grabow: The encroachment to the sideyard setback is a zoning issue we have to deal with,everything else should be dealt with by the HOA.Hawkins: Did your title work mention anything about a covenant violation?Jared Meyer: We did not see this in our closing documentation. Hawkins: When did you purchase this this home in June 2022,it was disclosed that this fireplace had zoning violation Iwith the City.Why did you wait until now to resolve this?Jared Meyer:Yes, it was disclosed to us at that time.My wife has had some health issues. We were in contact with the City,and took some time to get the application process started. A Motion made by Grabow and seconded by York to approve PZ-2023-00211 V. Denied 3-2,Grabow,Schuler. 3 BZA Meeting Minutes 10-23-23 (V) Gramercy West, Stone Gravel Variance. The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approval for 46 lots: 7. Docket No.PZ-2023-00212 V Gramercy West PUD Ordinance Z-630-18,Section 6.2.0 Gravel prohibited in front/side yards,Gravel in the side yards requested. The site is located at approximately 942 Templeton Dr. (Gramercy West Subdivision). It is zoned PUD/Planned Unit Development. Filed by Edward Freeman of David Weekley Homes. Petitioner: Ed Freeman: • This development was approved by the Plan Commission and City Council in 2018 • Gravel between our C and D homes was prohibited • We have found over time,the sod(grass)between homes would not grow and overwatering would cause a drainage issue. We are asking to allow gravel to be placed in between these lots. Public Comments: None Department Report: Angie Conn: • We are supportive of the variance request for the 46 lots, on the condition that landscaping is added to the fronts of the gravel area to help screen this area. Board Comments: Schuler: Will anything be placed under the gravel?Ed Freeman: A linear will be placed before the gravel is installed. Potasnik: If grass won't grow there, how will tall grasses and shrubs grow here to hide the gravel?Ed Freeman: Our landscaper has stated that plantings placed in front of the gravel would impede the drainage. Angie Conn: The plantings will be placed out in the open in the front yards. Grabow: I don't feel that the gravel needs to be screened or hidden. A Motion made by Potasnik and seconded by Grabow to approve PZ-2023-00212 V. Approved 5-0. Meeting adjour d at 7:00 p.m. im Hawkins—President Joe Shestak—Recording Secretary 4 BZA Meeting Minutes 10-23-23