Board of Zoning Appeals - Regular Meeting

All right, I got 5:00 before I open the meeting here. We're just daily or daily meeting stuff that we got to say. Anyone that would like to speak, sign in the uh podium. Uh please be respectful of the stuff you guys say. Remember, keep all comments brief and respectful. If any concern has been brought up before, please refrain from discussing the same things. We'll go ahead and open and call this meeting to order for August 20th. Gracie Grace, can I have a roll call, please? Mike Nichols, here. Scott Highlander, here. Sam Payne. Isaac Chavez, present. Charles Bates, here.

Okay, taking a look at the minutes. We don't have everyone here with Sam and some of these minutes kind of vary with a person that wasn't here from the meeting before. So all the meetings from May 14th, June 11th, July 9th all need to be tabled. We'll open a motion to the board. Why? Why do they need to be tabled again? Not everyone that was present is here and some are different like Yeah, I can see one is Sam missing and then one is like me missing and Okay.

So, we can I'll make a motion we table it. Is that what you need? Yeah. Yeah. I'll make a motion we table the minutes prior prior minutes. Okay. First and a second. And that is for all uh three dates mentioned. May 14th, June 11th, July 9th. Can I have a roll call, please? Mike Nichols. Hi Scott Highlander. Hi Isaac Chavez. Hi Charles Bates. Hi.

Okay, moving on. Just double checking with the board here that we have no conflict of interest with the petitions being presented tonight before us. Hearing none. Moving forward. Uh just double checking here that we've not had any contact with any board members from set of petitioners with is being discussed before us tonight. Hearing none going forward. We'll take a look at new business public hearing docket 2025-012. Petitioner is Payton Akard requesting a special exception to allow the use of the drive-thru window at the 28 East Overlay district. Mr. Dontock, can we have the staff report, please?

Thank you, Mr. President. Members of the BZA, um Pton is the applicant. The address that we're going to be discussing is at 1900 East Walby Street in Frankfurt, Indiana. The site characteristics is lot number 275 and 276 in the east park edition second section to the city of Frankfurt, Indiana as the same as recorded in record plot record two new page 118 and is commonly known as 1900 East Wai Street in Frankfurt, Indiana. The request is from the petitioner is requesting a special exception for approval of a drive-thru window at any establishment. In the unified development ordinance references, you're looking at 403, East State Road 28 Overlay District 40304C. The following or similar uses are special exception uses in the East State Road 28 Overlay District. one drive-thru window at any establishment in section 308 all street parking and loading and in 30802 section E in addition to these requirement required parking spaces there shall be at least two vehicle stacking spaces for each gas pump at service stations and truck stops at least three vehicle stacking spaces for each bay at car washes and at least six vehicle stacking spaces for each window or terminal at drive-in in financial institutions, fast food restaurants, photo finishing establishments, and other businesses with drive up windows and facilities. The zoning of this property is roadside business, and the request analysis is from 203-11 special exception. from rising from cases arising from their territorial jurisdiction. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall approve or

deny all special exceptions from the term of the zoning ordinance, but only in the classes of case that or in the situations specified in the zoning ordinance. The board may impose reasonable conditions and or comments pursuant to Indiana code 3674 10:115. A special exception shall be approved under this section if after a public hearing the board makes findings of facts in writing that one, the proposed use conforms to the district's provisions in which it will be located and all general regulations of this ordinance. The driveup window will be located on the east side of the building where it now exists. It will also have the ne the necessary six vehicle stacking area as required by the 28 east overlay district. Two, the proposed use shall not involve any element or cause any conditions that may be dangerous, injurious or noxious to any other property or persons and shall comply with the performance standards herein. The restaurant is established in a former bank and an accountant's office. It will comply with the requirements for a drive up window and parking. They shall comply with the performance standards herein and meet all requirements for vents and hoods in a kitchen permitted by the fire inspector. Number three, the proposed use shall be sighted, oriented, and landscaped so the relationship of its buildings and grounds adjacent buildings and properties does not impair health, safety, general welfare, or comfort, and does not adversely affect the values of adjacent properties. The restaurant already has landscaping and in section 403.053, 053.

If a parcel is already improved or an existing structure is expanded or remodeled within the overlay zoning front fronting state road 28, then that parcel or structure shall be subject to the regulations to the extent possible due space limitations as determined by the administrator and or plan commission and shall comply with the performance standards herein. Four, the proposed use shall produce a total environmental effect that is consistent with and not harmful to the environment of the neighborhood and will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding properties for use already legally permitted in the district. B residential. It's B residential to the west and north. It's a car wash to the east. South is a chiropractor's office. This partial zone roadside business and landscaping requirements will be met to buffer the residential district. Five, the proposed use shall organize vehicular access and parking to minimize conflicting traffic movements on adjacent street. This project has 23 parking spaces of which one will need handicap parking to be accessible. an entry off of Crescent Street and an exit off of Walnut Street. The unified development ordinance requires one parking space for four customer seats plus one per employee. This will allow 86 customer parking and four employee parking spaces. The proposed use has taken or will take adequate measures to provide utilities, access roads, drainage, and other necessary facilities. This property already has all the necessary measures for the facility. The proposed use shall promote the objectives of this ordinance and shall

be consistent with the city of Frankfurt's comprehensive plan. On page 13 of the comprehensive 2035 plan, it reads roadside business. The land use category designates areas for commercial use where primary access is by automobile but accommodations is made for bicycle and pedestrian access. These are along major arterial and streets and are quite often included in planned shopping centers and clusters of buildings which share amenities as parking and access. In Frankfurt, this land is located primarily along 28 East and West State Road corridor and the area shall be landscaped and screened from nearby residential areas. The recommendation is that this special exception should be approved subject to the findings of facts in the staff report. Um, I want to go through one more thing before we open it up for questions. And that is in 510 in the UDO, drive-in establishments, drive-in restaurants, financial services with drive up windows, car washes, drive up photo finishes, and other business with drive up windows shall meet the following standards. In 5101, principal access shall be from arterial and collector streets, which it is. 5102. The establishment shall be located a minimum of 500 feet from an automobile service station, commercial garage, or other drive-in establishments located on the same side of the street as measured by a line drawn from the rideway from the nearest existing access drive to the nearest proposed access drive for the planned drive-in establishment. This requirement shall not apply to businesses located along a designated service drive intended to serve multiple drive up businesses. And that he it it meets those requirements because there's not an automobile service station or

commercial garage or another drive-in establishment within that area. 5103 parking, vehicle stacking spaces, buffer yards, and signs shall be applicable sections of this ordinances. And as we've already discussed in the findings, um he has plenty of parking. And I think that you have a a drawing that shows um the six vehicle stacking spots that will be sufficient for the drive up window uh to uh be accessible. So, we are now open for questions. And the owner, Payton, is here in case you have questions for him.

I have a question. And this is the This is the layout. I thought it said there was access off of Wall Bash. Is there a driveway come off? Not off of Wall Bash. It'll be coming off of Crescent. Yeah, Crescent, I guess. And then it'll come off the backside of Walnut Street, not Wall Bash. Walnut. Yeah, I got in my head. Thank you. Yeah, I thought I was right. I'm familiar with the opera. I'm familiar with the place. I didn't think there was anything off of off of 28 or whatever you want to call. Okay, great. That was the only question. Well, that's a question I had. I just had two questions. There's not a scale on this drawing. Is it each square 10 ft?

They're like 15 foot. I did my truck and I backed it up six times to make sure it would fit around that, but it' probably get about 10 cars. You probably make it about 10 cars around there. Uh, and then what's the what's your total projected number of seats in the restaurant? So, right now I have 49 where I'm at and I plan on keeping 49 because for insurance purposes and everything else for right now because it keeps it under for uh fire safety too. So, you get a whole another mess.

This would be the same if I understand correctly, Don. This is the same kind of approval that we would have given to Culver. That's right. It's in his That's That's exactly right. Okay. He's not like it could pro potentially in the in the bank was set up for two lanes. This will not be it'll just be a a single window drive up. So I I probably should have put that in by the time I get a remodel inside. I'd love to take the canopy down to have it just open up a few more parking spots. So Oh, I see. Yeah. Unless you're going to do an overhead pizza delivery thing. Well, I've seen him with like slides. Yeah, I've seen some of those.

That would be awesome if you had that much business. You had stack two. Hey, he's coming into a good location. A lot of people know where he's at. Yeah. I got a question. What's the difference between now and what it was when it was a restaurant before? It was a bank before though, wasn't it? It was a bank. Okay. It was created to be a bank and then Damon's came in and the bank was what really used to drive through more than Damon's probably didn't used to drive. No, I don't think they use it at all. No, they don't. Okay. I was just curious

glass panel right there, too. All I'm going to do is take the glass out and put a sliding glass. I'm not moving any of the bricks or anything. It's plenty big. And if we want to talk about parking, a great question by you, sir, is that on the back side as you walk out or drive out through Walnut Street, there are parking spaces there, and more than likely that will be for employees to park at, not in the front section. I mean, I did have a one other thought. Are you planning on restricting it to try to be entrance only, exit only? I don't think you would need to. I'm really that right there on Crescent. No, I'd rather be going both ways.

Yeah, I don't I keep cut if I take that I plan on just doing maybe another five or six parking spots like angled so you can get in and out with the drive-thru and still have that as an exit entrance back there. That's not existent right now, is it? Like an exit. There's no restriction right now. It's it's entrance exit. I've never been in that area. I just driven by it. And there's I don't know how far back it is off of of Wash, but it's it's to be decent enough that there's plenty of room to clear out.

It's just nice for a restaurant to have two entrances or two exits, however you want to put it. So, um it makes for a lot easier for traffic. This is a This is a nosy business thing. So, you have the one you have Bruno's and you have you're out at out at the other out by what do you call it? The other place, right? Brother. Yeah. So, you'll move you'll close that and move it. Yes. My lease is up there December 31st. It's either Well, I'm arguing with the landlord right now because he doesn't know I'm moving yet, but he said January 31st. He said it's 37 months. I said it's 36 months, but he said he said it was 37 months. I said, so it might be January 3, but yeah, we're leaving that location.

Well, this is on tape and everything recorded, not at you. So, your landlord may not know. I apologize for that. All right. Okay. Okay. All right. Any other discussion on staff report? Okay. Hearing none. Thank you, Don. Uh any other comments from the petitioner? Payton, Mr. Aker. Any other questions?

Okay. Hearing none, we'll open discussion for the public. Hearing none, public discussion's closed. Uh, open discussion up back for the board. Any additional questions? Hearing none. Discussion for the board's close. I'll now open a motion to the board. I'll make a motion. I'll make the motion that we approve um docka number 2025-012. Subject to the pardon me subject to the u analysis or the findings of facts.

Findings of fact. Thank you. Do I'll second. First and a second. Roll call, please. Mike Nichols. Hi. Scott Highlander. Hi. S Payne. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Hi. Charles Bates. Hi. Thought it was 5:30, didn't you, brother? Yes, I did. Did the pad work for you when you No. Rang the bell. I opened up the door. The wedge wasn't in it. No, I You hit the pad. If you'd hit the pad, it pop. It should have popped right open. I unlocked it. I'll check on it.

That's all right. I I was with Leo. I had to go down check on Leo. I got plenty of time. I would check that and mock the building up and put all the tools inside. I'll be here plenty of time. I pull around the corner. Pretty good. All right, here fellas. Motion carries. We have any other old business?

Um, we do not. I do want to go over the fact that um we are working on for both the BCA and the plan commission a a set of kind of rules in case we get into a large crowd to make sure that we're we're doing the proper things as far as how long people can talk, how they go about doing it. So, we're we're going to set that up. Ashley, Ash, we say Ashley. Alicia is working on that and then we'll probably be bringing it um to you uh saying that this will be the way that we'll handle in case we get into situations where uh we have the potential of large crowds. That would also mean that if we get into having more people that can be here that we may have to um uh I don't want to use the right word, move. we would have to move maybe to the library. So, we would take the meeting from here to the library and uh finish up down there if we So, those are the things that we're working on. A lot of it came across, of course, from the the plan commission meeting when before they pulled out the the data center process. Um it it allowed us to start thinking about being prepared for large crowds. So, um we'll be bringing that to you one day soon. Um, I can't tell you about or I don't know about anything that's coming unless Grace can in the following months, but things are kind of as in wintertime starting to slow down a little bit. Um, which sometimes is a good thing, sometimes not. So, um, but as of right now, this may be the last thing for a little while.

I'm sorry. Quick question here for House. If minutes have already been tabled, you can take them off table. We take Yep. I have a motion to do that. All right. Can I get a motion to do that? Sure. I'll make the motion to take the minutes off the table. Okay. Minutes are back on the table for

I'll make a motion that we pass the um approve the minutes from May 14th. Um, we will have to do them individually cuz I was not here for one. Oh, okay. Sorry about that. That's no problem. Can I do the first one? Yes, sir. Okay. I make a motion we approve the minutes from the May 14th meeting. I'll second. First and second. Can I get roll call, please? Mike Nichols. Hi. Scott Highlander. Hi. Sam Payne. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Hi. Charles Bates. abstain if you weren't here.

I abain. That's okay. Okay. We will now open a motion for minutes from June 11th. I'll make a motion to accept the minutes for June 11th, 2025. I'll second. Hold on. We can't. Yeah, you were not here. I wasn't. For June 11th, I will Mike Nichols is on President Mike and Charles. Okay. I will second first and a second. Roll call, please. Mike Nichols. Uh, abstain. Scott Highlander. I. Isaac Chavez. I. S Payne. Hi. Charles Bates. I.

Okay. Open a motion for minutes from July 9th. I'll make a motion to accept the minutes for July 9th. I'll second. First and a second. Roll call, please. Mike Nicholls. Hi. Scott Highlander. Hi. S Payne. Hi. Isaac Chavez. Abstain. Charles Bates. Hi. Good catch. Thank you. Got that done. Thank you. That's good. That's good to clean that up. Yeah. All right. Any other old business? That's all that I have. Sir,

I I I have a question, Don. This is just a more of a general question. All this the stuff with the with the data um that is that going to reflect back on the city thing our the pro not reflect back, I guess, but we approved our particular piece of property you did. And uh uh but for for them to actually build something there, they have to there's other things that has to happen, right? Or they do besides our zoning. And you want me to explain the the process that they have to go through to get what it is they're wanting to do? Sure, I'd like to.

I can I can I sure happy to do that. So, the first thing that they have to do is once they develop their strategy or their plan, um that plan then has to go before the drainage board, the county drainage board to see if it's in need of any type of a a retention or holding pond. If there is one that's required, then that then two things take a place. One, somebody has to draw up the the plan the holding facility that then goes to the airport board and then it comes to us also as it goes to Weslers. As Weslers will have to go through it and make sure that the pond is being built according to our our requirements. So if that goes through and everything is fine, then um the airport board will oversee the the pond. It'll oversee the height structure depending on how high they they take these structures. Um and then the development plan will have to come back before the plan commission. They'll have to approve that. Now the plan commission only has uh one thing that they can do and that is if the development plan meets all the requirements of the UDO then they have to pass that. So there there's there's no they can't just deny it because they don't like the project. If it meets they got to they've got to accept it. Um so is there a way for it to come back to you? The answer to that is yes. Um, so the way that it would come back to this board is if they need variances. So let's say their buildings are going to be more closer to each other than 10t apart or maybe there's other things that they are required to do and they decide they're not going to that would then bring that back here to this board for your approval or disapproval of the

variances. So those are the steps that they they they've got to take for the property that's in the city limits 115 acres the one the one that we gave the special exception to. Right. Okay. So they they have still have a lot of hoops to jump through. I know a lot of people thought that this would be something that would be fired up and going by now, but it's from the very get-go when we were dealing with this in April. I felt like if if they got anything rolling before March or April of next year, that'd be amazing. Um, just because of all the things they have to do to get to get to the final line. Have to go to the board of works for approval, too.

It it does not. So the one that I guess the thing that concerns me the most or not concerns me but but really concerned me about that that we approved it is that uh the information that that I know is that data data uh centers can be a a good thing or bad thing or in between all depending on how the trade goes so to speak. You know what they're going to do for us versus what we're doing for them. Where where does that come in? In other words, they want to build a center. We say, "Okay, you can build it, but but we we really want you to to to to support the uh uh the school system or we really want you to do we really we need to do do this or this before we'll approve it." Is it

Yeah, that's where does that get in? That's that's between whoever is looking for funding and and and the business if it gets placed and gets started. that will not I mean we have no no fight in that or no connection to that at all. Um uh for us people the people that are going to build you mean the whoever let's say Google let's say it's Google or something.

So it would be between Google and if the school wanted money and they wanted some sign of support the school would go out and have that discussion with them not not us. We wouldn't have anything. The thing that benefits the city of Frankfurt is the is the is the uh tax dollars that would be generated from both the the the businesses the business being built and the property and um that's that's how the city would be engaged in any type of funding. It would offset property taxes or or how all that works out. as far as any of their donations or that that's between the the company and the people wanting to donate, not not anything with us.

What what what so after after this goes all through the approval, what's the cards that that we're holding? We the community, what's the cards that we're holding with to to to approve somebody building something there? Somebody, you know, they going to come in, they don't want to do anything. They just want to build. Do we can we how do we they have they have to they have to draw up de they have to draw up their plans just like any other business and they would have to come before the plan commission with their developmental plans. Well, I'm not worried about the developmental plans. I'm worried about the

what do we what's the city going to get out of this? The community. What's the community going to get out of this? I know we're going to get some jobs. We we would potentially get some jobs. we could potentially get it. But if we want to get more than that, how is it negotiated by whom? In other words, we got a landfill out there that they ne according to the newspaper, they negotiated a better rate. Uh what's what's what's our cards? So, okay. So, first of all, or what's our what when when you're talking about the landfill and developing rates and that would be between the commissioners and

Oh, I know what's Yeah. Yeah. Um, so but when you're when you're talking about some type of a donation, so let's say the school wants to build u I don't know a brand new football field and they want to call it the Google football field. That conversation would be between the Google company and the school board. But but but but if we if you if you don't want Google to build here and Google saying we we want to build here. Okay. So what are you going to do for us? Who negotiates that? Well, I mean I guess I I'm not quite understanding the conversation that you're wanting to have.

Well, who negotiates to get as much as we can from a developer and it it all you can get a lot or you can get or you can just give away the store and say just go ahead and build your thing, you know, and all we get is taxes. Can what can we get that's more than taxes because that's not that's well get the fire station. Well, that had to be

Well, what I'm trying to do is not get myself wrapped up into that. So, if it's something that has to deal with the city of Frankfurt, then it would be the commissioner or it be the council people. If it's if it's something that has to do with um an independent business, it'll be the independent business talking with them. I mean, it's not going to be it's not going to be us who says, "Hey, you know, now that we've passed your developmental plan, we want you to build 15 schools." And no, we're not. I mean, we're not we're not going to do that. We're not that's not what we do. Um, but if if the fire department needs wants something and and this and the council wants to talk to Google about purchasing those things, they they could do that. But you're not going to hold them hostage saying that, hey, if you don't if you don't donate, you know, 5 million bucks towards a a a a center out the high school, um, you you can't you can't do that. But I mean that's not that's not part of the process.

What I from what I understand is when NHK built on the other side of this interstate the agreement was that they would build help build the new fire station. I don't know anything about that being negotiated somewhere in the line or talked about well if if that is the case and that would have been between the mayor and NHK and and then the mayor would have gone to the council and that's how that would have been handled. But none of that's going to get handled through any of these boards or any of these discussions that we're having.

I think NHK just wanted sure that we had protection out there because it was a part of the annexation and we had certain deadlines to meet to have protection out that way. So it wasn't necessarily just NHK getting the fire as a part of expanding that way and getting business out that way that we needed the fire to be I'm not against the fire. I'm just saying this and Mike and it just comes down to shareholders, stakeholders, the people that are that want to see something that they may need or want. It comes down to those conversations. Unfortunately, we have nothing to do with that other than seeing a kind seeing any kind of tax revenue that may benefit the city of Frankfurt.

Yeah. Well, the other thing the other thing that was brought up was that being that we passed what what was it the BZA approved it was the variance special exception for them to build in an industrial park. was saying it was approved to build. I said, "No, no, no, no, no, no. You you gave them you gave them permission to it can be built. It can now be built in this in the industrial zoned area because you granted them a special exception. But they still have several they can't just start putting buildings out there. That that will stop.

We didn't we did not approve them building. We approved a special exception that they got to go through the proper channels. And I said, "One of them is the airport's going to have a big say in this problem." And so will the county drainage.

You put that pond in out there and you height your buildings. I said, "Guys, there's a lot of steps to go." And I said, "If them buildings are too tall, that's right in the runway path. They're not going to approve that at the airport." And well, go ahead. I I I understand and I I think I understand that part of So we we almost if we ever had that meeting, we almost were in a position to approve 700 additional acres that was converted from annexed by us and converted to general business or whatever they we were almost in a position to I'm on the I'm plant commission. Okay. I was going to say you this board was not but

Yes. Okay. I was on a I'm on the planning commission. So, in the planning commission, we were almost I mean, I realize it's not the final. It's got to go, but we were almost in a position of approving that. what what you would have done what would have been the last if if I know we're way off of board of what we're doing here but if if it would have gone before the plan commission and if it would have passed it would have been the last thing that they would have done to move forward on the project and and that's because it has to be annexed before it can be reszoned. So you were giving them permission that if it got reszoned that it would then be zoned general business. That's that's what you were going to do. If it never got annexed then the zoning would go away. Everything you did wouldn't amount to anything. Um so it basically would fall back onto the council and the plan commission uh well basically the council for the annexation of the of the property. Um, so if they never annexed, what you did would have made no no meaning to it at all.

Okay. So that was canceled anyway because the company company canceled it. But now the company has come back apparently going to the area plan. Going to area plan, which is the county because it's still county property. And now they've doing the same process. Well, not the same process. Well, they have the same process with with us

to get those next 115 acres or whatever. Is that correct? They're they're they're they are now not going after the full 700 acres. They they've zeroed way back. Matter of fact, when I saw the plans this week of what's going, it's what I thought they were going to do once they left us. And it's just a smaller section on the other side of the railroad track. Um, I can't think of the county roads that survive that will surround it, but it's it's a lot it's less property than what it was prior to um coming before the plan commission. So, it's a it's a smaller area.

They never mentioned nothing to us about 700 acres in Army. No, because it was a thought that they may do that when if you let he talked about after he got the special exception that they may expand. Um they had a meeting with a group up in Chicago and that is what pushed the extra extra property. Make a motion. Second. Thank you. All in favor? I Sorry, guys. I didn't mean I just trying to keep up with this. You're doing all right, brother. What's going on here? I am, man. School started.