Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Bedford Board of Zoning Appeals regular meeting regularly scheduled. U call this meeting to order and uh first item would be to approve the minutes for the December 23rd, 2025 meeting. If everybody would review that. I'll make a motion to approve. We have a motion to approve. Second. A second. All in favor? I. I. Any opposed? Uh the uh minutes says printed are approved. Um next item. I didn't realize this was on there. Well, I forgot about it.

The election of the officers. Election of the officers. Uh chairman, vice chairman, and secretary. How does this work on a regular meeting? I'll tell you. I'll nominate Pat to be our chairman. I'll nominate Steve to be vice. I nominate Bill to be secretary. [laughter] I don't qualify. So now we've got some nominations out there. What do we do? Just take it see if we get a second on each of these. Is that how we're supposed to do this?

All right. So on the item of chairman, do I have a second? I will second that. I have a second for from Steve. All in favor of Matt as the chairman. I I Any opposed? Okay. Uh vice chairman. Uh do I have a second for that? I'll second. Have a second from Bill. All in favor? I I. Any opposed? And uh do I have a second for the bill of the secretary? I don't know. I don't know the bill. Can you not? Okay. I think it has to be me. Yeah, that's Kevin. [clears throat] But you you still want to be the secretary. I get it. I get it. You You don't have enough to do and I nominate Kevin to be

Well, me too. I second that then. All in favor of that. No need for a vote, right? Okay. You're the secretary. Good deal. Okay. With that nasty stuff out of the way, then we have one item today. New business on the agenda. request from John and Kelly Storms for a variance for use the um for the property commonly known as 1218 J Street. They wish to use the existing 1500 foot storage building as a retail space for a plant, nursery, greenhouse, and fireworks sale um store and the property is zoned presently industrial 2. So I'm assuming everybody has signed in speaking for or against. We got a couple people here for this project. The floor is yours. Tell us a little about what you're trying to do, guys. Last year we already had the flower shop down there, but we can't use the building. Can only use something without a roof. And I can tell you, uh, with all the rain and the wind and all that stuff, we want to be able to use the building that's sitting there right beside it. If you've been down by there, you know, the other is basically two storage containers and then we built an archway so it looks like a building, but there's no building there. And, you know, basically be able to use it, you know, whenever time comes. So, maybe we can actually put some house plants and stuff in there for Mother's Day and uh possibly fireworks. Right now, it's still rented out for storage. So, we don't even know whether this year will even be whether the guy's going to stay in there through May or not. It's on a monthto month with him. So, but like to get ahead of the curve and just be able to use it when needed. [snorts]

Yeah. So, to make sure I'm clear, uh you own the property and you're renting it out to a person that's using it for storage. Yes, that's that's okay. If if that rental goes away, you're wanting to use it for other purposes. Yeah. I don't know whether any of you have ever been in that building. It's pretty cool. It's a I don't know when it was built, but I mean, you still got the wood floors that are 3 in thick and you still see the floor or still see the ground underneath of it, but you know, it'd be a good place to, you know, display flower stuff in there and things like that. [clears throat]

It's requiring a variance of use because at an I2 the reason for just because of the use it doesn't allow for retail for retail okay that seems reverse you know I mean to some degree maybe and it appears if this was zoned now at I1 for use as a nursery we wouldn't even be here because that's covered that's correct but because it's I2 we have to do something and this is looking for a a variance versus a zoning change, right? Because the property is now um all one.

Yes. So, he doesn't want to change it or split it since it's all one. So, that would be the variance versus going for that zoning change because that would affect his other business as right. Okay. Is that where the power come in? Have you I saw letters have going out to the neighbors. Have you had any responses? I have not from them. No. No. I actually had called one of them to verify an address and told him what was going on. He didn't have any problem with it. But nobody else is contacting us. [snorts] There's not much around us.

Are there any questions? Any other comments? Uh they're clear that changes to the building for for them to be able to use the building assets, they'll be some requirements that they have to meet statewise, right, to do that to accommodate certain things. But also go back to the point of the fireworks. Are are you aware that you would need to deal with the state on certificance? [clears throat] Okay. Spoke to him. Okay. And that's a possibility. It's just kind of one of those things that

we looked at doing it, not doing it, and you know, it really comes down to that other guy's in the building. And I can tell you it has to be used for retail prior to to be able to do fireworks.

So if we don't put flowers in in this spring, we can't do fireworks even come July. We'll have to wait till the following year, you know, and see. But just as a possibility because I don't done some checking, never done fireworks, but like the state laws and stuff had changed on it. people can't do under tents unless it was grandfathered in with existing and there's a whole bunch of stuff and I already talked to the state fire marshal and he said that's the person you need and you know just to verify what can and can't be done

and like you said they were allowed to operate last year it's kind of like a roadside stand um and I don't they're not even open were open for what two months oh gosh five weeks Yeah. I mean, we're just kind of in for Mother's Day and back out, you know. Got to be warmer then. [laughter] Yeah. I get there in a hurry about I don't want to waste my life away.

Well, Mr. Chairman, uh I would make a motion that we approve this uh request for the variance for that building with the stipulation that it only applies to Mr. Storm and the family. uh if they would decide to get out, whoever would buy that next, if they wanted to continue as a retail or a a commercial business like that, they would have to come back to us to seek another variance because it might not be something that would fit in there. Well, understand. But that would that would be my motion with that stipulation, Kevin. Okay. And I'll second

and I have a second. All in favor of such I I opposed. Variance is applied for has been approved. John, if you have if you get flowers, get some ch because last year my wife couldn't find ch. I haven't tried that, man. You guys didn't have any. My wife, she's hoping to use the building because she's wanted to put like herb garden things. That's what she's wanted to do is set it up where you can come in and buy a whole rack that has all of them and a display and like her little herb garden at home. So, [laughter] well, all right. With that approved and no other items on the agenda, I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. I'll make a motion.

Have a second. I'll second. All in favor?