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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZA May 27, 2025 MINUTES OF THE JEFFERSONVILLE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS May 27, 2025 Call to Order Board President Mike McCutcheon calls to order the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. It is Tuesday, May 27, 2025, it is 6:30 pm in the City Council Chambers, Jeffersonville City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Ct., Jeffersonville, Indiana. The meeting was held in person and streamed live on the City's website and City's Facebook page. Roll Call Board President Mike McCutcheon and board members Duard Avery, Kelli Jones, and David Stinson were present in the City Council Chambers. Member Dennis Hill was absent. Also present were Planning & Zoning Attorney Les Merkley, Planning and Zoning Director Chad Reischl, Secretary Shane Shaughnessy and Planner Shelby Walsh. (Secretary's Note: All plat maps, public letters, photos, etc. presented before the Plan Commission on this date can be found in the office of Planning & Zoning.) Approval of Minutes Approval of the minutes from April 29, 2025. Ms. Jones made a motion to approve the April 29, 2025 minutes, seconded by Mr. Stenson. Roll Call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Approval of Findings of Fact Approval of the Findings of Fact from April 29, 2025. Mr. Stenson made a motion to approve the April 29, 2025 findings of fact, seconded by Ms. Jones. Roll Call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Approval of the Docket Motion to approve the agenda made by Ms. Jones, seconded by Mr. Stenson. Roll call vote. Motion passed 4-0. Oath Les Merkley administered the oath. When you speak, please state your name and acknowledge you took the oath. New Business BZA-25-21 Development Standards Variance Martin Salavec filed a Development Standards Variance application for the property located at 1603 Scott Street. The applicant requests variances from the setback standards for a proposed single-family home. The property is zoned R3 (Single Family Residential —Small Lot). The Docket Number is BZA-25-21. Martin Salavec and Michelle Single of 629 Upland Road, Louisville, KY, stated they took the oath. Ms. Single said they are working with the owner of the property, Jose Hernandez, to buy the land and build a house for them to live in while their current house is being remodeled. She said they will be there for 2-3 years and that they hope to improve the neighborhood by building 1 a bungalow style house. They are requesting a variance for setbacks because building a house on that lot would be too big without a variance. Mr. Reischl said that the project would allow for a new house to be built in an area zoned for smaller single family houses and would usually consider this a positive infill development. However, there are a lot of gymnastics to allow a house to be built on such a small lot. He said that he wasn't sure of the history of the lot but was likely a remnant of a road or easement project. Staff feels that there's really no way to build on the property without some sort of variance and their plan to move the house all the way over to the property line where there is a utility easement is probably the best solution. The house will stick out a little in the front yard, but if the house was moved all the way back to Ivanhoe, there would be little if any backyard. He said that it would be up to the Board to decide if there were any significant issues to granting the variances. Open public comment Bonnie Collins of 1605 Scott Street said she took the oath and stated that all of the houses on Scott Street are in a line and that her electricity runs from a telephone pole located in the easement next to where the house will be built. She said there are drainage pipes and gas lines that also run through that easement and thinks there's a lot going on in that easement. She said there are existing drainage issues in the area which has included the City buying a property on Waverly Road to help mitigate the issues. She said there were also times when she couldn't cut her grass because it was so wet. Heather Beamer of 1528 Scott Street said she took the oath and stated that all of the homes are all set back in a line and that all of the homes were mobile homes. She said that the proposed two-story home would be an intrusion into the neighboring properties as they would be able to see onto all of their properties. She said the flooding is very bad in the area and doesn't understand why they would want to put a two-story home on the property. Closed public comment Ms. Single said that there is a multi-story home being built at the corner currently and said that she didn't know they were mobile homes, but thought the existing homes looked nice. She said she thinks the bungalow home will fit in nicely. Ms. Jones asked which way the house will face which Ms. Single said it would face Scott Street. Mr. Avery asked what the price of the home would be which Mr. Salavec said it would be around $200,000-$250,000. Mr. McCutcheon said for the audience, that this isn't the Drainage Board and that would be who decides what drainage requirements are for development and that this Board only is discussing the possibilities of setback variances. Mr. Reischl said that on a small infill project like this, it likely would not go before the Drainage Board but that drainage issues could be taken into account when making their decision. Mr. McCutcheon asked if the City owns the easement next door which Mr. Reischl said that is City right-of-way and that there are a number of utilities lines running under it. Mr. Avery asked how far the new house would be from the existing home which Mr. Reischl said that the plans show a 6 foot setback from the adjoining property line to the east. Ms. Jones said that if you were looking at the property without the property lines, it wouldn't seem so cramped and that the house could fit in with what's on the street. Mr. Reischl said that there would be an 8 foot front porch so while it's technically in the setback, it would still be somewhat open. Ms. Jones said that from the front property line to the door would actually more in line with what is currently there. Mr. McCutcheon asked if a new home was built on a lot with an existing home on it what the setbacks would be which Mr. Reischl said that there are a number of options to determine what the appropriate setback 2 should be in existing neighborhoods. Mr. Stenson said that when you have a cul-de-sac, typically the setbacks are changed and it's not unusual to have houses closer together. Ms. Jones said she likes that they pushed the home all the way to the utility line as it will make the new house look less intrusive. Move to findings The Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Jeffersonville, having heard the application for variance described above, and all opposition from parties claiming to be adversely affected thereby, does now enter the following findings: i The variance of the development standards will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community. 2 The use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner. The strict application of the terms of the Zoning Ordinance will result in a practical difficulty. This situation shall not be self-imposed, nor be based on a perceived reduction of or restriction of economic gain. Based on the findings described above, the Board does now approve this application unanimously. So ordered this 27th day of May, 2025. BZA-25-18 Special Exception Mohanned Hanbali filed a Special Exception for the property located at 3830 Hamburg Pike. The applicant requests to establish a smoking retail store on the property. The property is zoned C1 (Commercial— Large Scale). The docket number is BZA-25-22. Chad Dickerson with Veridis Law of 320 N. Meridian Street, Ste. 1022 in Indianapolis said he took the oath and stated he was representing he applicant for the Special Exception. He said that due to a recent zoning amendment, smoking retail stores require a Special Exception. He said that the store will have gift items and smoking items. He said that the site is not within 1/3 of a mile of a school and that the site is a former bank that has been difficult to lease once the bank moved. He said this is a good opportunity for the property to generate income and commercial activity and that the applicant will only be doing some cosmetic improvements to the building, not structural changes. He said that the new rules were because of the number of new shops that were opening and that Zoning wanted to have the opportunity to have more oversight. He said that would be a nice shop with no blinking signage and said that this is a commercial area and the building is attached to a gas station and would help improve the area. He said the store would be responsibly run with no one younger than 21 being allowed in and that the upgrade to the building will help improve property values in the area and bring in more property taxes. He said that because it is a responsibility run and clean business they think they should receive the Special Exception. Mr. Reischl stated that while they are enthused with having a tenant in the long-vacant building, there are issues with proliferation of these uses which are disconcerting. There are three other businesses that offer vaping and smoking products within a '/4 mile of the building which leads Staff to not be in favor of this Special Exception. Open public comment Daniel Walters of 4509 Golden Crest Drive said he took the oath and stated he is a student at River Valley Middle School and was board and raised in Jeffersonville. He said he loves the 3 amenities in Jeffersonville but that he doesn't like how many vape shops there are in the City. He said that as more vape shops open in the City, he has seen an increase in the number of people offer him vapes. He said that more thought needs to be given on how to protect the City's future. He said that vape shops are marketing themselves to children and that children can walk to many of these shops. He said that he'd like to see more restrictions on these products for both children and adults. Jackson Carson of 626 Kewanna Drive said he took the oath and stated he has grown up in Jeffersonville has concerns with how vaping affects public health, particularly among children. He said that the community has not done enough to limit the spread of vaping. He asked the Board to help stop this proliferation. Bill Burns of 2014 St. Andrews Road said he took the oath and stated that he opposes the request which is located directly next to another tobacco shop. He said that the zoning code was recently amended precisely because the community has seen an overabundance of these uses and that the change was made to allow the Board more oversight of these uses. He said approval of the Special Exception would directly contradict the purpose of that change and would set a poor precedent by undermining the zoning rules and code revision and sends a message that these guidelines are optional rather than enforceable standards. He said that the duplication of services does not serve any public use and that the area was already adequately services by existing vape shops to which adding another would only dilute the existing businesses and further entrenches a single type of retail use at a location that should support a broader mix of uses. Additionally, clustering vape shops could have negative societal costs including exposure to minors and negatively impacting the image of the business corridor and urges the Board to deny the application. Closed public comment Mr. Dickenson said that the products the applicant will sell are for adults and that's why no one under 21 years old would be allowed in the store. He said the smoke shop next door had opened before the current zoning requirements and said the shop like that needs competition to push them to do better. He said that nicotine has been done for centuries and while they we don't want kids to get it but that one store won't have an effect on those efforts. He said that we shouldn't disallow adults to access these products and that if children are getting illegal products, that is a task for law enforcement. Mr. Avery said that Circle K also sells vape and tobacco products. He said that the applicant's timing is perfect as at the Plan Commission meeting, they had been talking about the reuse of vacant bank buildings which this does. They also discussed the use of private property which this would be a legal use of private property that would provide competition for the commercial area. Mr. McCutcheon asked if they were building a brand new building if the Special Exception would be necessary which Mr. Reischl said they would still need the Special Exception because of the product being sold and how much of the overall store space and revenue is dedicated to these products. Mr. Dickenson said that gas stations could sell those products because they don't meet those definitions and that gas stations wouldn't have the restrictions to minors like his client would. Move to findings The Board of Zoning Appeals of the City of Jeffersonville, having heard the application for variance described above, and all opposition from parties claiming to be adversely affected thereby, does now enter the following findings: 4 1. The special exception will not be injurious to the public health, safety, moral, and general welfare of the community; and 2. The requirements and development standards for the requested use prescribed by this Ordinance will be met; and 3. Granting the special exception will not subvert the general purposes of the Zoning Ordinance and will not permanently injure other property and uses in the same district; and 4. The proposed use will be consistent with the character of the district therein, the spirit and intent of the Zoning Ordinance, and the Jeffersonville Comprehensive Plan. Based on the findings described above, the Board does now deny this application, with Mr. Avery in support of each of the findings and Mr. McCutcheon, Mr. Stenson, and Ms. Jones in opposition. So ordered this 27th day of May, 2025. Report from Director's and Staff None Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Board of Zoning Appeals, the meeting was 01 adjourned at 7:10 pm. ....4,-)4. iii\k 3 \9e -S)T•1 Mike McCutcheon, Chair Secreltary 5