Board of Zoning Appeals - Regular Meeting

13 2026 to order. Can we please all rise if you could for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance to the flag United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you Cat. Thank you for being here as well for Liz. We really appreciate it. keeping Liz in good spirits today as she's having surgery done. Okay, so we got this meeting called to order. Grace, can we have uh roll call, please? Mike Nichols here.

Scott Highlander, Sane, Isaac Chavez, present. Charles Bates here. All right, we'll take a look at the minutes from April 23rd. Once you have a minute to uh review those, I will call for a motion. We should uh be able to pass these. Everybody was here. I will now go ahead and uh open a motion to the board for minutes on April 23rd. I make a motion. Second. All right. First and a second. We have a roll call, please. Mike Nichols. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Hi. Charles Bates.

Hi. First time we don't have pending minutes.

I know. Good start. All right. Before we hear any of the petitions today, just double checking with the board that we have no conflict of interest. They are able to move forward. Hearing none, we will do so. All right. Any of the petitions being heard today? Just double checking that there's no one been contacted before tonight's meeting. All right. Hearing none, we'll go ahead and take a look at new business. Um, we'll take a look at public hearing docket number 2026-010. The petitioner is Shane Sigler. He's requesting a development standard variance for an impervious service ratio. Miss Cat Bell, can we please have the staff report?

Sure. So, the applicant, as you said, is Shane Ziggler. Address 851 Burlington Avenue, Frankfurt. Um he's requesting a developmental standard variance from UDO 304 to allow the site to have an impervious surface ratio of 45% instead of the permitted 30%. This property is zoned a residential and is a conforming single family dwelling use in the zoning district. The property to the north, west, and south are all um zoned a residential. Also, uh to the east is uh city property zoned general business. This site is on the east side of Burlington Avenue between Green Street and Washington Avenue. There is a roughly 1,00 square foot uh single family dwelling on the lot that was built in 1948 and a 700 ft² detach uh garage was added in 1993. The property is legal non-conforming with regard to imperous surface as it had 42% covered when the city adopted the imperous surface regulation in two 2023. The applicant wants to add now an 8 foot by 12 foot shed to the property behind the garage. He is planning to remove a gravel pad at the front of the lot to prevent his total impervious surface amount from increasing, but as the shed is is a new impervious surface area, um it will still increase the site up to

45%. The variance is needed in order for the applicant to add the shed. And you'll see on page two there, there's been some uh like a par uh parcel and zoning map added and then also uh photo of an aerial of the property. As you can see at the front of that by Burlington Avenue, they have marked out where the uh gravel pad is that uh is noted that they it will be removed if this is granted so they can put the shed in. On page three, you see a couple photos of the property. One looking from Burlington Avenue and then the one from the backyard. So according to UDO uh 304 impervious surface permitted to be no more than 30%. Um when determining a variance according to UDO 2031 12.12 uh three findings must exist in order to grant that variance. So, uh, finding number one, the approval will be will not be injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community. So, Dan Sheets, the Clinton County surveyor, has stated that there are no drainage concerns created by granting the requested variance and nothing injurious would appear to be created. this. So therefore, it appears that this finding is met. Um number two, the use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner. Given

that the county surveyor feels that granting the variance will not create any additional water runoff concerns um it would not seem that the adjacent properties will be adversely affected. So therefore it appears this finding is also met if uh and then number three the strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will result in practical difficulties in the use of the property. So, if this uh variance were granted, there is not a was not to be granted. I'm sorry. There is not an area on this lot that would meet setbacks and not be in a way that the garage doors were where where a shed could be placed. The applicant is doing what he can by removing the gravel pad at the front in order to compensate for the shed. So, that the total effect after the variance is only minimally increased. There is no way to add anything on this plot without needing an impervious surface u variance. Uh so therefore this um finding also appears to be met. Uh consequently, staff does recommend to approve the developmental standards variance from UDO 303 to 304 to allow up to 45% of the lot to be covered with imperous surface with the condition that after the this would be after the gravel at the front is removed, then the shed can be placed there.

Thank you, K. At this time, we'll have Shane come up for any additional comments. No, don't have any. Have any questions for Shane? Okay. Thank you. All right. We have any questions for the public? We'll open discussion. All right. Hearing none, we'll close public discussion. At this time, we'll open discussion for the board. Any further comments or questions? I just had one quick question that that's not obvious in the pictures. I assume uh that there is a alley way goes to the back of the of the lot that that they access the garage from. That alley comes off of the street department road I believe. Is that correct?

Okay. And is that called Frankfurt Street Road or something? It's called Street Department Road, but the alley runs along where the old cooling towers used to be in the back of the city property back there. Um, when I spoke to Dan about this, there was plenty of drainage. The everything on the property slopes away and at the end of the day, yes, you have to go to 45, but then when he takes the pad out, then we're back to right where we was. So, it's not really a drainage issue or a surface issue. We're swapping one for the other is what it really boils down to. Okay. Thanks. Yep.

All right. Close discussion for the board at this time. Call for a motion. I'll make a motion we approve um the development of standard variance from UDO 304 based on staff recommendations. I'll second. Okay, we have first and a second. Roll call, please. Mike Nichols. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Hi.

Charles Bates. Hi. All right, we'll continue moving forward. Take a look at new business public hearing docket 2026-01. The petitioner is Mardanian with AutoBSA. He's requesting a developmental standard variance for the following. The variance is to allow the placement of a 10-ft fence on a roadside business district. Miss Cat Bell, can we please have the staff report?

Yes. This property is zoned roadside business. And the property adjacent to the northern end of this parcel is also zoned roadside business. And the rest of the adjacent property um around both both sides and the south is uh zoned a residential. So this site, the petition site is on the south side of uh East Walbash Street, State Road 28 between Kentwood Drive and South Mash Road. There is a structure, a commercial building on site about approximately uh 30,000 square feet. And um on uh May 17th, 2023, B the BCA did approve for the use of uh auto repair and sales. After it was approved, the city allowed the installation of a 10-ft privacy fence around the area to the rear of the building that has cars waiting for repair. Um but they granted of course a variance for them to put that 10 foot fence up and that was on um November 13, 2024. In both of these meetings though, the applicant had indicated that he was going to be leaving the uh the natural uh screening of trees uh along the west side of the building. uh that was adjacent to the properties there. Uh recently though the applicant removed the area of significant vegetation on the west side of the building. This vegetation had been serving as I said as a visual v buffer for neighbors along there

um as noted in the previous BZA hearings. Consequently, the neighbors called building services with concerns when their buffer area was removed. Um, after the conversation, it seems the best way to resolve the issue is for the applicant to continue the 10-ft fence um up along this side as well where the vegetation was removed to provide screening for the houses that now lack that screening. The applicant is willing to install the 10-ft fence, uh, but it requires for u variance through the BZA to allow them to expand that previously approved 10-ft fence along the west side. Um, according to UDO 503.13F, in residential or business districts, no fence, wall or wall can be higher than 6 ft. Um, to and may be placed or built built or installed in the side and rear setbacks of any lots. No fence or wall of more than 42 in may be built place built or installed within 25 foot of the street rightway in any residential district or general business district nor within 75 ft of any street rideway in the uh roadside business district. All fences and walls must be in compliance with the visual clearance area requirements uh of this ordinance as well. So again the findings the three findings

of uh in order to grant a variance um number one the approval will not be injurious to the public health safety morals and general welfare of the community. So, there is already an approved 10-ft fence, privacy fence around the rest of the side area and ha it has uh has not caused injurious situation. In fact, neighbors are asking to have the requested fence installed to provide a solution to the lack of buffer that they now don't have. um which is more which is more injurious to the enjoyment of their um rear yards that than installing the fence would be uh with it being open of course. So uh this this finding appears to be met. The and then number two, the use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected substantially adverse manner. Uh the neighbors are requesting that the taller fence be put in um and extended across the backs of their properties in order to improve the use and value of their property more than having slow growing uh plantings put back in um as like they had before. It would take a significant amount of time for that those plantings to mature. So this this appears also to be met. Um then finally the strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will result in practical difficulties in the use of the property. So, there is already an existing

building here, an existing drive that allows for the vehicles needing to be repaired to be moved to the rear of the property, which uh when this property was granted the special exception, from what I could tell uh find in the um file as I was reviewing it before the meeting, um the condition of their special exception approval was that the vehicles that are waiting to be repaired have to be parked in the rear. So, that's where they need to move the vehicles if they're needing to be repaired. Um, the only only f the only only place a fence fits is to the west of the drive in the side yard setback. Um, additionally, a six-foot fence doesn't provide adequate screening for larger vehicles um coming in and out and also excess lighting coming from the approved business use. Um typically businesses require to have buffers and and then this you know and usually that it can be done with trees but again trees would take a long time to get to mature to the point where it would give them the adequate uh screening that they the neighbors are wanting. The neighbors want the fence. The owner is willing to install the fence but must obtain the requested variance in order to expand to what was already previously granted in 2024. So consequently, staff recommends to approve the developmental variance requested from UDO503.13F

to allow a 10-ft tall privacy fence to be extended up the west side of the building to match the fence on the east side as shown on the site plan. Thank you, Cat. At this time, we'll have any additional comments uh from the petitioner if you have any.

Uh just one comment actually. It's not like we're willing to do it. We wanted to do it. That was the whole idea to remove the trees and put the privacy fence extend them. The only problem was I didn't know that our previous permit has had an expiration date. That's why when we started taking the trees down because they were dying to begin with and they were interfering the operation. So she she mentioned that the cars that waiting to be repaired go in a bag and the semi trucks when when they were using the west side of our building that would get stuck every single time they go there. So that was the whole purpose of it to extend the fence. But when Rob called and that's when actually I found out that you know that our permit has expired. So and I stopped everything we we have this here. So so that was the initially that that was the whole idea to extend the fence the same fence extend all the way to the comments questioner. All right at this time we will open discussion to the public. Any comments or concerns from the public?

Yeah. Yeah. I signed up there. I didn't know if I needed to come up here.

So, my name is Steve Steining and I live at 451 Kentwood Drive. And I think it's safe to say that no other property along this uh this fence is more impacted than ours. Um we have a large patio. We have an above ground pool. We entertain a lot. And for 40 years that we've lived there, we the beauty of the property has been the privacy that those trees provided. And so now when we walk out the back door, open our curtains in the morning, all we see is a big gray building with three large windows in the side. And so, uh, I guess that's our, uh, biggest concern. So, if we're going to go with the fence, because we're not going to be we're not going to live there long enough to benefit from any shrubbery, uh, being planted there. Um, but I guess my question is, is it possible to ask for a 12t or higher fence? Because if you come in my backyard and building inspector has been there and you follow the line of the 10ft fence that already is there, it will only cover about the first maybe 2 feet of those big tall windows there, which would allow, you know, uh, well, we would take away our privacy eventually. So, uh, anyway, I didn't know if it was possible to ask, you know, if we're going to do the fence for a 12- foot or higher fence, even though I think you said, uh, they petition for a 10T. So, I don't know where we where we go with that.

Did you say there's currently a 10-ft fence there? Yes. The from the back of the building to cover the back of the back area where they have the cars that are yet to be worked on, um, they put that in there to to buffer that as well. And so what they're going to do is extend it from there to the front of the property. Right. That's correct. Yeah. So So there's a 10-ft fence from the rear of the building further back to the retention pond. Yeah. And they're wanting to go from that point to the front of the building, which is the same as it is on the other side of the building. Correct. Uh I think that's correct. Yes. The east side of the building. Yeah.

All right. And if I if I may add, those uh the windows that you see, they're actually very high. And I I welcome you to our building to take a look at it. They're very high and there is not a chair or anything. Anybody can possibly sit there and uh I'm not accusing anybody of that. No, I'm just saying I'm not saying I'm just for your, you know, for your conscious sense of like it's just for lights. So pretty much the building itself is closed all around and you know, we just open some windows, the lights come in. That's all it is. So, but Rob's been there numerous times. There is no stairway, no ledge, nothing like that that they can stand on and take picture of you guys out there skiing the

And I'm not worried about that either. I'm just It's just just like I said, if you I I I didn't I failed to bring any pictures, but you know, we can't even see the building with the with the bushes up there. We couldn't even see the building. And now when you open the curtains, it's just a big gray building now, you know, or when you step into the backyard. And uh so I don't think they make anything bigger than 12 foot to be honest with you. As far as the fences go, I don't think they make anything bigger than that. And the setback with that would be because there 12 foot takes special order. So it's going to take significantly more time than the 10 foot that usually it's more usable for everyone. So special concrete base

and that's another question I had is how soon are you talking about doing this? uh we're actually we would have been done if to be honest with you if the BZA meeting wasn't in a you know in agenda because that that was the plan once we clear it out I don't know if seen it or not now we have a dumpster already over there so it's remaining clean out and we just order the stuff and start doing it but when Rob called I stopped everything literally other than clean up yeah because like you know we've got summer coming up here you know obviously I mean I wanted to do instantly as I was telling Rob but you know we stopped because he said we we got to go through And I I mentioned it much like I didn't know how it expired. Okay. The whole point was that so the trucks can go in the backside of

especially in Saturdays we get a lot of people and most people come with the kids. Those kids love to run outside and you know the some of the cars that we receive they would just come right down the middle of the aisle and start unloading the car car over there and that's not what we want. I mean, god forbid something happens like a injury to a kid or what not. I mean, we we don't really want to go through that route. So, that's the whole idea. So, they can come through the west, unload the car, and go out from the east. So, minimizing all the traffic as possible as much as possible. So, that's the whole idea. I mean,

we weren't against the trace or anything like that, but that alley, we had a truck that stuck there for about four or five hours. That was the whole point of it. I'd like to add too that um this has been advertised as 10 foot. You could go and grant like 9 foot, but if you want to go more, he's going to have to re you have to uh revertise. I'm having a hard time remembering what kind of fence this was. This like gated fence or wooded fence. Yeah. No, it's a metal fence.

Metal fence. I can't remember. Aesthetically, it's it's nice, you know, but I just don't think it, you know, goes high enough to from any point from the pool deck or the patio or even looking out our kitchen window, it barely covers the bottom foot or two of those windows. So, but you know, if it involves reapplying and all that stuff, then I'd say go ahead and move forward with the And you already answered my other question about the purpose of the removing the bushes in the first place because I Yeah, that's I mean the safety that was the main purpose actually. Okay.

Cuz other than that, we don't have any news of the place to be honest with you. It's not like somebody's working there all the time or doing any kind of a work whatsoever. Nobody's I mean rarely you see anybody in there. So Okay. All right. Okay. I guess that's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Stiny. Any other comments or questions from the public? Hearing none. Up close public discussion at this time. I order open further discussion to the board. Um, it's kind of going to be directed at Rob. Rob, is there an issue with the 10 foot fence and the power line?

No. On the all the power lines are on the east side of the building along the east side. And you're talking probably 25 to 30 feet underneath that. Maybe 20 feet underneath the power lines. Maybe 10 or 15 at minimum. Uh, but I actually did talk to city lights to power. Um, I mean I was there for 31 years. I talked to Philip and Robert. They had zero issue with the 10-ft fence going along the east side of the property. And actually standing on the outside looking toward the building. The fence looks very nice. It does. It does match the building, but it's not creating a utility issue whatsoever. Um, there is a transformer pole on the west side of the property that comes back off of Waw Bash, but that is, you know, that's that's not going to create an issue. So, this picture that I have of the power line on what looks to be the

Can I Can I come up and see what picture I don't have the notes with? So, this is either taken from the back and then flipped around. I think it's the back. But it shows that it's shows the caption under there shows that it's the power line is on the west side of there are power lines on both sides. Uh what used to be the old Marsh and Kroger side that's where that building is powered from is from on the east side of the building. There's no issue with the

No sir. No sir. There is not this is not going to affect them doing anything because the fence is on the west side of all the poles. So they still have access from the ground up. So for them, yes, there will be no issue with them whatsoever.

I'm going to kind of just thinking about your issue with the height of the building. I don't think any fence that's not over half the height of the building is going to do any better than at some point it's just the triangle hoof where you stand. Well, my my take on this is is the BZA and everybody permitted the holy side from the front of the building back to where they stopped. They also permitted what is there currently and it would have you know at the end of the day it probably would have continued and been done other than removing the vegetation which I understand that's an issue but if they're good with the fence being there continuing the 10 foot on up to the other side of the front of the building and it doesn't affect anybody it doesn't affect the power system it doesn't affect thing at the end of the day, it it's going to block at least the traffic part of what goes up and down the west side of that building. It may not be what really, you know what I mean?

Yeah, we get we understand. Not going to block the whole thing, but it's going to at least put a blockage back in there buffer. Um, this is just a question because I wasn't on the board at the time. Did the if you could speak to it that's fine if you can. Did the variance to approve the auto repair and sales just look at this picture kind of 75 vehicles back there. Did y'all address anything about not keeping this from being a junkyard versus like auto repair? I think it was 75 overall parking spots like in the front.

Like if just looking at the satellite camera there's 75 cars in the back. Did we address anything about like these have to be vehicles that are not just abandoned and junk vehicles? These have to be repairable vehicles. Like did we when you all address this with the BCA for the auto repair and sales? Did y'all put any conditions on that? I don't I don't I'm having a hard time remember other other I don't remember putting any conditions other than other than it being in the back of the building as opposed to as long as all cars were in the back and I think we tried to put a certain number in the front. I just noticed that there was 75 vehicles back there. There are no cars. Yeah.

So they actually the majority of the vehicles that you see it's actually the cars are being worked out. Okay. That's a lot of car. They are junk. No, whenever it's junk, uh, the junkyard is actually I mean, not the junkyard, the metal place is literally a mile away from us. So, that's that's what Yeah, I think we put as long as any car was that was being worked on or being Yeah, it was in the back and and covered. That's that's something along those lines. That's the way I remember it also. basically. Yeah, it does look like a lot of cars, but but uh u I don't think we put any kind of restriction on that or that we even could

Yeah, I do have a a copy of the minutes from that uh May 17, 2023. That's for the special exception and the motion was approved request to the finding of the staff reports with the condition cars in disrepair must be kept in the rear of the U property only. Vehicles for sale may be in the front and the maximum number of cars for sale though for would be allowable number pursuant the square footage of the lot minus number of spaces required by city ordinance for customer parking. Good question. Yeah.

Any other comments or questions, concerns? Hearing none, we'll close discussion. At this time, I'll open a motion. I'll make a motion that we approve um developmental variance request for UDO503.13F to allow the temp fence to extend to the along the west side of the building uh to the front of the building which will match the east side which sounds like. I'll second. First and a second. Roll call, please. Mike Nichols. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Hi. Charles Bates. Hi. Motion passes. Any other old business? Cat, you got anything for us? Rob,

that's it. All right. Motion to adjurnn. So motion. Second. I'll second. All right. All in favor, please say I. I. Everyone be safe getting home.

We got sign anything, Grace. You forgot to permanent slide.