Board of Zoning Appeals (bza) - Regular Meeting

Yeah. Okay.

Just thinking next month. Thank you. Every project Did

you work the kinks out of it from last night or have you tried it again? Yes. I'm going to say yes and knock on. Good. They gave us new chords, but they didn't tell me to use only the new chord instead of the two chords that I'd been using together previously. So now you know. And the cords looked exactly the same. So

well, it looks like 6:00. So I'll call tonight's meeting of the board of zoning appeals to order. And uh I think before we do a roll call, I just want to formally welcome Mike Harrison to the board. He's appointed by the county commissioners. And uh and Danielle, if we'll have a roll call now, please. Okay. Randy Jones, present. John Dberger, yes. Here. Darla Brown, present. Jane Glory, here. Michael Harrison, present.

All right. Uh, first item of an agenda tonight is to elect officers for the coming year. Um, I we have four positions to select for. First one is president. Um, I I'd entertain a any nominations anybody wants to make. Um, John, are you interested in remaining if your name is put up? Yeah, I have a no problem continuing if if that was what the board wanted. Well, if that's the case, I'll nominate John Dilberger for president. I'll second.

Okay. Um, all those in favor of me for president, uh, signify. Well, I guess we better have a roll call. Danielle, I'm sorry. You're fine. John Delberger, yes. Michael Harrison, yes. Darla Brown, yes. Randy Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. All right. Um, next office up is vice president. Um, Darla, would you be willing to continue in that role? Yes, if you would like for me to. All right. I I'll nominate you for that role. Second. Do you need a second for that? Yeah, I hear you.

I think he second. All right. All right. Let's vote on uh Darla for vice president. Roll call, please. Michael Harrison, yes. Darla Brown, sure. Randy Jones, yes. Van Gore, yes. John Dberger, absolutely. Um, next person to select is our attorney for the coming year. Um, Dave, are you willing to stick with us for another year? Certainly. All right. Um, I'd suggest that we uh we elect Dave as our attorney then. I'll second that. Oh, is that a formal motion or do we need to add it?

I'll make it a formal motion that we nominate Dave for attorney for the year. I'll second the motion. Okay. All right. Roll call vote when you're ready. Daniel Darla Brown, yes. Randy Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. John Delberger, yes. Michael Harrison, yes. All right. And finally, uh, we need a secretary for the coming year. Um, Danielle, would you be willing to continue doing this for us? I sure would. Okay. Um, I'm happy to nominate you for that then. I'll second it. Okay. Uh, a roll call vote when you're ready. Okay. Randy Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. John Dilberger, yes. Michael Harrison,

yes. Darla Brown, yes. Okay. Thanks everybody. I hope everybody who was here last meeting had a chance to review the minutes from last month's meeting. Um, I had no changees to suggest to them. Anybody else? I did not. Okay. All right. I'll move we approve for the minutes from last month's meeting as written then. Second. All right. A roll call vote when you're ready, please. Daniel. Okay. Jangor, yes. John Delberger, yes. Michael Harrison. Darla Brown, yes. Randy Jones, yes.

Minutes from last month are approved. We don't have any old business carrying over from previous meetings. So, we'll go to the first item of new business. That's docket number 26-V01, which is a request for variances from uh various setbacks. And we'll we're ready for your staff report when you are. Okay. And this is the amended version that I sent out again today and then I printed up there too. Yes. Okay.

And those of you in the audience, you can see it on the side screens. Okay, this is staff report for Bayaka variance petition docket number 26-B1 hearing date February 25th 2026 postponed from January 28th 2026 petitioners and property owners Steven and Katherine Bayaka request as a variance from the residential side setback requirement ordinance provisions section 4.1 height of structures and section 4.6 6 C of the Brown County zoning ordinance. Location. The home is lake located on WS208 of Sweetwater Lake Plat 15, more commonly known as 6792 Eagle Drive in Hamlin Township within the Cordy Sweetwater Conservancy District. The property is located on the west side of Eagle Drive, approximately 1 mile souththeast of the intersection of Sweetwater Trail. Zoning and current land use. The property is zoned lake residential LR and has an existing residence in detached garage. General history 1. On September 24th, 2025, BZA heard and ultimately approved a variance for an addition and remodel at this address under docket number 25-B6. Two, the variance approval allowed for a residential setback of 5 and a half feet from the northern property line to convert a portion of the detached garage into living space with no additional bedrooms or bathrooms. The planned deck had a setback of approximately 4 ft. Four, construction on the remodel and addition began soon after the approval was granted. Once demolition began, the contractor informed the property owner that the home should be demolished due to the presence of mold as well as the cracks in the existing footers. Four, the petitioners have decided to demolish

the home and rebuild. General findings. One, the petitioners are requesting approval of the following three variances. One, height of 28 ft at the midgable front elevation. Two, set back of six feet from the right side setback, which is the north property line. Three, set back of eight feet from the left side setback at the south property line. Two, the Brown County Health Department had previously approved a pump and hall system for the addition and remodel. In a letter dated December 1st, 2025, it was confir confirmed that the permit is still valid and is now based upon the updated house plans. When reviewing plans and completing inspections, the building commissioner measures the height of a building with a gabled roof. The measurement is on the front side of the building from finished grade to the midpoint of the gable. Four, section 4.1 of the zoning ordinance prescribes that no structure may be erected or changed so as to make its height greater than 25 ft in an LR district. The maximum height is 35 ft in most other zoning districts FR, R1, R2, GB or AB. The petitioner the petition is requesting approval of 28 ft for difference in height of 3 ft. Five, the Brown County zoning ordinance section 4.6 6 C states that the minimum sideyard in a residential district is 10 ft. In the same section and in the rules of the Cordy Sweetwater Conservancy District provide that the minimum aggregate width of both sideyards for a residential use is 25 ft. This petition is requesting approval of an aggregate total of 14 ft. Six. The home is located outside the special flood hazard area according to the

detrimental to the public welfare or materially injurious to other property or uses in that district and vicinity. Summary. The board must decide whether granting a variance from the legal height requirement and granting the requested setback variances will be materially injurious to other property or uses in the same district and vicinity. And this is a sign out from the I just thought it was nice looking. And then this is where the home was. And this is the southern end of the driveway. And then from the northern end. So this is the north property line here too. Okay.

Again from the northern property line. And then here shows the existing front what was the existing front elevation and then the proposed front elevation. Gotcha. And the petitioners did provide larger plans too. I know it's really hard to see this on on the small screens.

And then existing rear elevation and proposed rear elevation. The site plan. So the six foot is, can you see the mouse up there? Six foot is here on this side. And then the 8 foot is here and the purple boxes are previously approved variances. The white is outlining this specific property here. Okay,

that is the end of the staff report. Those previous variances, are those for uh side sets backs and rear setbacks? Are there any of them for height set? I I don't recall having done a height variance in my time here. I asked the building commissioner and he he doesn't recall either. Okay. So, this is new. Okay. Any other questions for Danielle? I I have some questions. Sure. Um, I'm looking at the site plan and it shows this 8ft dimension to some dotted line. It's not the property line. Is there not actually more room on that side than what what they're stating?

So, um, I think the petitioners can explain this a lot better than I can. Yeah, I'll be more happy to explain it, sir, if you'd like. It just looks like you got more space than what you Well, there's not. So, may I step up the print? Well, I think maybe why don't we hold off because we're going to hear a lot from you, I suspect. That's fine. Would it be okay if you just if you have other questions for Danielle? Maybe they all could be answered better by the petitioner. Sure. So, let do do you want to ask Danielle any of them? See if she's the one to answer. No, that was about a grading elevation. So, okay.

All right. Sounds good. Um, all right. No more questions from Daniel. Um, Danielle, how many cards went out and came back? Uh there were 20 sent and 15 were returned. Okay, great. Thank you. All right. Um Okay. Well, the petitioner's here. So, yes, if you step up the microphone and uh you can e if you have something you want to share with us, you know, to add to Danielle's report, that's fine. Or if you want to just take questions for

I'll take questions, but um I I do want to stress one thing and and hopefully I can put some uh rest assured here. We are not expanding this home. That's not the purpose in the variance. The home is in its original location. And to answer your question, what you're looking at are the footers that were original to the home when it was there. The problem we ran into is when we demolish the home, we don't meet the current standard for the setback. So, building a new home means we have to meet the 1015 standard. Sir, before you go on any further, could you state your name, please? Oh, I'm sorry. Henry Murray. Is this working? Check. Check. Yeah. I might pick that up. There you go. Okay. Yeah. You are I'm with All Things Property Solutions LLC, a home builder and general contractor.

Thank you.

Okay. So, um on the plan of the site plans, you'll see where to answer your question, um there is really not more room over there. We're just asking for the variance to be able to put the the deck and the house back in the exact same footprint. Otherwise, if we have to follow the 1015 rule, the the detriment will be that we have to decrease the size of the home by six foot on one side and four foot on the other. They're going to lose a substantial amount of their home if we have to follow the 1015 rule. That's the that is the the purpose in the setback request. And the height variance is to add a foot to the basement. This is for your second thing is to allow for drainage. The 6 in per 10 foot off the home. Th this will allow us to raise the grade of the home up.

You you got plenty of room to drive around that corner with concrete trucks or dump trucks or whatever on that side of the property. No, we'll have to have it pumped in. We'll use a pumper truck to do all the concrete work. Well, you're going to wind up with a good bit of dirt excavated from the basement area. How are you going to get that? We have already got it excavated and it's piled up in return piles so that we can back fill after doing the proper drainage. You've got excavated all along. Yes. The north wall. Yes. North. Oh, I'm sorry. North and south wall and the wall facing east nearest the street.

Okay. Well, that's good information for me to know. I thought you hadn't done any excavation yet and I had a lot of concern about what you going to do with them.

Sure. No, we went back 36 in. So, and as for the new footers, they'll actually go down even deeper. We need to be at least 12 in deep so we can hit solid ground. Yep. And and that would be the request for the height variance. Also, the first and second floor need taller trusses for mechanicals. So, that is another reason for the extra foot on each floor as well. Okay. I understand that to build the home that they proposed to build, you require the variance on height, but don't they have an infinite choice of homes to build?

I guess I don't understand what you mean. Well, they they've got a piece of property on which they want to build a new home. Correct. And there are setback requirements and height requirements. And your argument about the setback requirements is well they just want to put back to the original footprint. And I get that that hold for the height requirement. So what's the rationale for wanting a special exception for a higher?

So the again the the height requirement serves two purposes. It allows us to raise the basement by a foot. That also allows us to achieve the runoff that we need, which is six inches in the first 10 feet, and allow for drainage. The secondary part of that is to gain another foot on each floor for mechanicals. So, we need the space to run mechanicals because in that home, we're going to have to put in two separate HVAC systems. One that'll control the second floor uh heating air conditioning and one that'll control the first floor. And we have to have that room for 8 in duck work. Gotcha. Okay. We could do a a brick drop and drop the home down inside, but you know, for the Bianca, that's another $75,000. And that's a lot of money to ask to drop that home down 3T.

Right. So, it's it's it's also the financial aspect of we're trying to be good custodians of their money. Sure. And get back what they had. You know, this was not originally planned to be let's tear it all down and do this. This was detrimental to them when we found out that all this damage was done. So, they didn't spend 5 years of their retirement planning to do this. This was a terrible thing that happened. And now they're they're at the the point where they've had to make tough decisions. And this is their dream home. This is what they wanted to put back up. And yes, they have an infinite number of selections, but you know, if you're taking $1.2 million of your money, you want to put back what you want. That's what we're fighting for.

I understand. I understand what they want, but wanting something is not there's and yeah, but there's also Right. There's also a mechanical reason behind it, too. Sure. It gives us the ability to to achieve our our elevation. It also allows us the mechanical space, but most importantly, it allows us to direct the water away from the home. There's a also in our plans is the flood control we have and our water management plan as well. So, that's a part of that as well. Go ahead. Have you given any thought to going back the roof load to what the original house has to cut some of the height back?

So, we could drop the pitch, but then we have to change the hill height. And the hill height is where the roof meets the top plate of the top wall. And if we do that, then we got to drop wall height down below 8 ft. We can't do that by code. So, if we can't get this elevation, then, you know, we'll have to go back to the books and try to figure out, you know, what can we do realistically that's going to give us that without having to cost them an exorbitant amount of money. So, that's what we're trying to avoid. We could brick drop the home, meaning we could put a ledge inside the foundation wall and we can drop the whole home down, but that is incredibly expensive. So, we're we're just trying to avoid that. This is a great drainage plan on this home and getting that elevation is really critical for us.

I assume you put the siltation fence in. Yes. You're required to do down in rule five or rule six.

Uh well, it's whatever rule that uh we got the permit for from the conservancy. So, and I know that it's not directly on the property. I know what's on theirs, but honestly, we we follow the path of the water and part of that, so there's a drainage dish here on the left. And part of that is us being responsible is to make sure that none of our dirt and silt goes over into that. So, we moved over as close to that edge as we could before we buried all of our silt fins down so we can protect as much of that embankment right there as we we possibly could. That was the rationale behind putting the silt fence there. on on the north wall, this lower section, your elevation shows that the the ground is reasonably level all the way across that property, which means that you got a

It's not level that grades down all the way to the lake. Okay. Well, I mean, it's this elevation. Yeah. Yeah, but it's not exactly level there. It pitches. Okay. I was going to say that that wall that you got there would be a 7 foot below grade. Yeah. No, it it drops off steeply on the north side over there.

Okay. Well, I guess what I'm trying to understand here is, okay, they're going to build a new home, and you're explaining to me why they want to build a home that's 3 ft above the Well, it's not that they wanted to, that's how it turned out. Not to cut you off, that's how it turned out with the engineers. Um, the thing we also have to keep in mind is that we have to meet a minimum trust height, too, to span the distances we're spanning. So, that's another thing to take into that our our structural engineer took into account, too. So height is going to be I mean if we got to change our height it's not going to be the end of the world by any means. You know like I said we can we can figure it out. It's definitely going to put another delay in these people's plans to have a home bill.

Sure. So I I can't explain it any more than that to be honest with you. I mean that the height is really needed for our mechanicals and for the run the the runoff. You know, the biggest issue they had with that home besides all the stuff that was cut out of it was water coming in over the top of their basement because they had 8ft ceilings in there prior to and that was one thing we wanted to avoid. We also talked him into eliminating all the windows down there except the one that's required for egress. So, you know, that height variance, I know it's a stickler, but we really do need that to achieve this home for for them.

I get that. I get that. We're just we're just somewhat constrained because our zoning ordinance has a very clear definition of what constitutes a hardship and and the fact that it costs you more to do it in compliance with the ordinance than not is not a hardship. The fact that you have to go back and change plans is not a hardship. So that's why I'm asking about this. Yes, I understand. Okay. How old was the older home that had to be torn down?

It was built in 1966. Okay. I uh anybody else have any questions for for the man representing the petitioner? So the height elevation is needed or is necessitated basically because of this particular model of home. Is that correct? It's not because of the model of home. It's because we want to be able to put the mechanicals in the floors.

Also, again, the basement height, it doesn't matter what home we put there, we're still going to have to have we're in the same boat. We're not changing anything except the look of the home. That height requirement for the basement. Even if we can't do it, the only thing it does is put them back in potential to deal with water getting back in their basement. We can only use so much waterproofing. The ground is incredibly steep out there. They take on a lot of water. We have a great plan to get rid of all that water and divert it from around the home and into the lake. But that height is really that is an important issue for us. It's not just a matter of this is what they want to build and we want it this high.

Changing the pitch on the roof doesn't doesn't do much for us, right? Because that affects everything. I mean, when you're building a home, you can't just change a door and there not be consequences, right? You guys know. So, my job, as much as it is to be a home builder, is to eliminate the the the possibility of liable. And that's what I'm trying to do with them, right? Trying to get rid of all this liability that that they're facing right now. Not to mention not having that home for the last 3 months. Okay, that's a little lengthier answer than what I was expecting, but I hear what

Well, and I apologize. you know, it's it's been a it's been a a long 4 months. So, I mean, just trying to get all this worked out, get the plans done, get everything figured out for them. And then, of course, we started that remodel and it went into just downhill from there after we found all the things that were cut out. So, that's what I mean by the the long process. Well, you understand we have questions here. Oh, absolutely. And I want to answer them all. I want I'm on your side. Well, there's no real I mean, I'm on the I'm on the the right side here as we're doing everything right.

Okay. I I I think I have a pretty good understanding. You've done a good job of explaining. Basically, you got to raise up the foundation on this house and that adds height. And then you got to add another foot between the first and second the basement and the first floor and that adds another height. And then you got to add some space between the first and second floor and that adds some height. And the sum of that means you end up 3 ft over the what the zoning ordinance limit is. That is correct. I get that. Yep. Okay. So, that's just the way it is. If they want to build this home and they want to have the It is however you say it is. Yeah.

And if you guys decide that that is not it, then then I'm okay with that and they will be too and we'll move on and we'll figure out something else that we that we have to do. I mean, obviously, this is not going to be a and we can't let this be the end of of their dream, and I'm not going to let it be. If we have to reconfigure the home and figure it out, they're going to have to figure it out. They'll have to put it in their budget. There is no if, ends, or buts about it. Change costs money. Okay. Anybody on the board have any other questions? I guess I have a question about the height. How does it affect the neighbors? Does it block their view? Does

It's not blocking anybody's view. Nobody can see any further past that home than they can 3 ft. Now 3T's not blocking anybody's view. It's not it's not it's not blocking their view either. They've got a direct view to the lake. They're looking at the same side of the house they would look at when it was sitting there before. And there aren't any other lots that are correct on the round that could be affected by the hype. I'd be more than happy to bring pictures in, do some drone video. Actually, I think Kayla, you had a picture of the this property and the surrounding properties the site. Yes. So, this home um to the left of the screen there. This

actually I was going to have you go to further along to the one that shows us that section of the lake with all the properties with other special exceptions. There you go. Yeah. So, no, I don't see that you could block anybody else's view of the lake from there. There's nobody behind you except the road and then down to the other side of the lake. Yeah. And that house is actually, you know, sit higher than ours because they're up on a hill a little bit. So, they'll still have good view of the lake. Okay. Any other questions? Thank you very much. Thank you guys. I appreciate your time.

Um, is there anybody else here who wants to speak in favor of this petition? Anybody wants to speak against this petition? Yes, ma'am. If you'd come up to the microphone and identify yourself, please, and let us hear what you have to say. Thank you.

Good evening, members of the board. My name is Mayor Helen Heg, and this is my husband, Mark. and worth the adjoining neighbors on the south side of the BA property. Okay. We have several questions and concerns regarding their variance requests. I previously submitted a letter to you. Um, excuse me for a minute. Is that microphone on? I had to get like really close to it. Yeah. You've got to you got to get like Yeah. Incredibly close to it. That's it. It's just we we record these meetings for minutes and so that that's why I wanted to make sure it was getting recorded. Yes.

Um like I said, I I have previously submitted a letter regarding these items. Hope you had a chance to review them. still doing um I feel like the staff report the amended staff report is confusing because the BAS had already demolished and remove any evidence of their former house and garage in December nearly 2 and 1/2 months ago and they did this voluntarily. So why are these three variances necessary to build their new home? They now have the vacant lot of nearly a half an acre for their according to their filings. And my understanding is that it should make no difference what was there before or that a variance was previously granted to accommodate an addition or room model of a now removed structure. A bit less than a half an acre for their new construction should provide ample space to fit a three-story 4,000 ft home within the required side and height setback limits. What are the special circumstances that create a hardship for them? The definition of a hardship according to the zoning ordinance requires that a variance be granted only for exceptional unusual circumstances and things that are peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardships are not considered to be exceptional. Additionally, the detailed notes, text, dimensions on their plans we received were not legible or clear as to the actual setback dimensions, the locational accuracy of the proposed improvements, including our cop proper a line, and the details of their French drain system as to where their water's going to deposit. We're very concerned that granting of this variance could be materially detrimental to our property, particularly in regard to future storm runoff. All of their design issues can be resolved through other means without granting a variance. Statutory setback

and building height requirements exist for access, safety, and privacy. Their site plan is not a legal survey, and they actually disavow its accuracy right on their drawings. We also noticed that part of their silt fences on our property like in the picture the the thing I submitted clearly by at least 3 or 4 feet. How can you ask for a side variance when you don't know where the property line is? Their plans suggest and he suggested a 6 in total grade slope or drainage and and water runoff have been a historic issue. The existing road eco drive is much higher than our homes and it seems to not be crowned properly. So consequently, we catch more than our share of rainfall. Their plan suggests a 6-in total grade slope within the first 10 ft away from their house toward the south. That's us. And if they raise their house 3 ft to alleviate their problem, I'm concerned it will exasperate our runoff issues. The drain that currently funnels their water exits through a large pipe opening into their backyard. And with tremendous fall from their property to ours, we frequently get saturated very quickly as water runs into our property or onto our property, depositing mud and debris across our deck spaces, as well as saturating part of our yard and septic field. Again, any additional water directed our way could be materially detrimental to our property. We thank you for your thoughtful considerations of our concerns and urge you to deny this variance application as it clearly does not meet the required criteria for approval as stated in section 36 of the county zoning ordinance.

Can I ask you a question? Surely. It appears that you object to all of their variance requests, not just the height variance request, right? Well, I I guess you have a stronger objection to one or two than

I have I don't really have an objection to the north side variance because it doesn't affect me. The southside variance affects me and um I have an objection against that. I don't understand how in a piece of property that's twice the size of mine, they can't fit a new construction. They can't configure it to fit somehow. I mean, that's that's quite a big piece of property. It's twice the size of mine. Okay. So, you just have objections to the one side there on the south side. Correct. You have no issues with the height. The height. How does that And the height,

how does that affect or improve the drainage problem that you're complaining about? How does it affect us? No, she if if they address the if if the setback on the south property is to your suiting, how does that solve the drainage problem that you're complaining about? Well, it doesn't solve the drainage problem. What we're concerned about is them elevating the house and putting it up 3 foot higher like on an island

and direct and directing all this water away from their house to the south. and they say that they've put in a French drain and they're and they're going to catch all this water, but they already have a French drain. It's already in place. Obviously, it didn't control, you know, the situation that they want to elevate the house and they actually want to create a better flow of water from the north, I mean, from the side front of their house to the back which floods into our backyard. So you know that

well the house is not there. You don't have gutters there. So you don't have all the things that are going to catch water and redirected at this point. So what well this was all previous to them. They put French drains in okay a year a year before they turned. Yeah. I mean they're already existing. They're already there. So, you're just saying you had that problem?

We had the problem when they put the French string in it. It it exasperated our problem because of the way it flowed out into the backyard and then with a tremendous drop down, it would flow down into our yard. So, this French drain doesn't seem to be solving their problems.

And, you know, as far as the side setback, you know, it's clearly in the regulations for a reason. you know, it's there for safety. It's there for privacy. Um, you know, I don't know how you would access the an emergency situation to the backside of their house. You know, if you have these houses too close together, it's clearly they're in the regulations for a re for a reason. And like she says, they have the amount of space. They don't need to encroach on that property line. Yeah, Abraham.

Well, it seems that part of their argument is when they're going back to what the ordinance requires is what is the how does the previous variance request apply and you know I think generally you find out if you take a house and it's gone that previous request goes away too. Yeah. No, I I understand Miss Heg's position. I mean, the we now have a bare point 42 acre plot here on which somebody wants to build a house and the fact that they want to build a house that doesn't comply with all of the provisions of the zoning ordinance is why they're here.

Yeah. Okay. Any other questions for Miss Egg? I don't believe I do. Okay. Thanks for that very much. Thank you. Okay. I I don't see anybody else here who might want to speak to this petition. You You don't, right? Okay. I didn't think so. Um I'd like to hear if the petitioner has a response to the issue about the water running off onto their property with the proposed design.

Yes. I'm going to go to this right here. I'll try to speak loud enough for everybody, but there is erosion control plan and there is a drainage site drainage plan on here too. Oh, here we go. So, this this this plan covers everything. This show this will show our our site drainage system on the site development plan. And also, I want to be clear about something. There is no French drain around that house. There is nothing there. They put some drainage pipe in about 6 in under the ground and that does not qualify for a French drain. That was another contractor that did not do them very well. Our system will be a footer French drain which is what's required by code. It'll be 16 in in diameter and a bed of stone crushed stone and we will drive the water off of there. Also in the Yes, in front of the home, in front of the garage, there will be a 1,300galon per minute catch basin that will catch the biggest part of the runoff. As she stated, the the the water runoff there is terrible. And this will also catch and go into 12-in water runoff French drains will all go back towards the drain, all back towards the lake. That's that's going to be around all the footers and in the front of the house. And there's also a 36-inch drain tile right here on the right hand side or south side that goes all the way down to that drain cvert that she's speaking about.

That 36-in drain tile now exists or will exist. It is a huge hump between their home. You're not getting anything in there. And all of that drain tile that they did put in is all tied into that at the moment. It's not anymore cuz we took it out, but it was. So, there's a drain tile right here on on here and then all of the erosion control and the new French drains will go around all the foundations which I'll show you in the foundation plan. And just for the record, the people on YouTube and the people in the audience are all of these plans are what we already have in our board packet. Correct. And here's a side drainage plan. Larger

legible versions our board packet here. Yep. And as you can see, we're actually going to start at the street and put our first drain tile in. And these will all be and there will be a second one post the driveway. These will all be tied in. We're going to have a massive um drain tile right here again that'll connect into the garage with the drain basin that's going to drive all this water away from the home back into this flood basin that goes down into the culvert. Okay. So, are you telling us that basically the way that you have this designed both for all the storm water capture and direction? Yep. That everything from this will be draining into the lake. Correct.

Okay. That we know of. There won't be any other type of peripheral drainage onto anyone else's. Nope. Nope. Everything will tie right back into a main culvert. Once they dig the trench, we'll tie that into a main tile going right out to the lake. And the main uh capture will be the French string. Correct. One of the things that she commented on was that it didn't seem that you knew where the property was or the property located undefined. We turned our survey pins or anything there that to determine where to show. Yes. On the very front page. It's right here. Are they in Can you locate those in the field?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're all marked. Yep. The pins are there. The property line pins are all there. And uh and that's exactly what this was pulled off of a GPS by a survey engineer. So, these property lines are correct. Setbacks are correct. The placement of the home is correct. And it's all accurate updated data. How long you been in business? Um, I've been in business for a little over a year, but I've been doing this for almost 30 years. Okay. For somebody else. Yes.

Yeah. Okay. All right. I uh I don't know they have any more questions for you, but I'd be interested in your answer to this. What what exactly? And it's the special circumstance on this property that doesn't apply to other lots in this area here. The special the special circumstance that that applies here that doesn't apply to the neighbors or the other people in this

is going to be the significant loss in their home that they'll have to deal with if these variances aren't approved. This is not a matter of making a bigger home. This is preventing them from losing square footage on their home, which is what they'll have to do if we have to go to the 1015 rule. So, right now, this set back deck is at six foot. We're going to lose 4T on the north side of the house and we'll lose an inch about an inch on the south side, but they'll have no deck, no rear deck because we won't meet code for it. We won't meet the minimum pathway requirements. So, they'll lose the entire deck off the back. And this is all just to meet the 10T on the north side. I mean, there's considerable amount of loss that they'll have if we don't get the variances.

I get that. But doesn't that apply to everybody else in the district? I mean, if they do I think that anybody else to take their home down and they hopefully would be here fighting to put it right back, right? That's what I'm doing. Okay. I'm not fighting for anything outside of what they already had. I'm fighting for what they had. Okay. Yeah. I'm I'm not arguing. No, I I know. And I'm not being argumentative either. I'm passionate about this. I I love these people. I really want to do a great job for them, right? And and and I just want to make sure, you know, we're doing our part right, too. And I understand that that maybe there's not some exaggerated meaning out here or some answer I can give you that would just turn your heads. I'm just giving you real data. That's the fact. If you decide not to do it, it's your decision. The impact will be theirs to deal with.

I understand. But they're going to lose a good section of their home because we won't meet the requirements for the setback. And that's detrimental. Imagine your home gets blown down by a tornado and you want to rebuild it and you find out, hey, you can do it, but you can only put half your home back because the varian says you got to put a new home in. It's what you got to go by, right? That's the position they're in. Understood. They just want to put back what they got. They don't want anything extra. Anybody else? This is not a question to you. This is really a question for the board people. you know being new in this position it's hard for me to have maybe the right perspective or perspective that we all share.

One of the comments was it is common in this area to have reduced setbacks. Mhm. How far does that go? How how how do I take that? And okay, that's uncharted waters.

I've been I've been thinking about that too myself over my 10 plus years on the board. Apparently, whoever got the first setback variance granted in the Lake District was the one who did the work for everybody else. Ever since then, ever since then, the justification for granting setback variances has just been that well, somebody else got one or two people got one or three or four people got one. That's been the justification. So, I'm sorry to say that that as far as I've been able to discern is the situation. Well, you know, coming into this, I was kind of inclined to think that, you know, you have this this rule that if you have a variance for something and then you do certain worth a certain amount of work demogs and you start all over again. But here here we've got a situation where this house was already there. Uh, I didn't hear anybody complain about all that. It sounds like he's going to take care of that variance problem. Now, on the or the drainage problem, but on the flip side of that, if you go back and you start over, you're going to need to do the same thing with the drainage anyway. Uh,

yes. And realistically, it seems overkill to go back. We're talking about deck space here. That's what ultimately at the end of the day on the south side of the home. It's do we get to put a covered deck on or do we stop it at the foundation wall. That's what this comes down to. The home is not moving over into that space. This is deck space. If we don't get the variances, that's where it'll impact not just the home, the deck, but it's going to impact the home, the size of the home and the structure. Do you build a lot of homes in this area? No, this would be my first one down here. And that's why it's so important that I've tried to to to do everything correctly.

I was just wondering if you had any uh historical knowledge about other homeowners who've had problems with their homes getting flooded because of their drainage system or retaining wall system or

I do not honestly. I got my knowledge from just getting online, doing the research on on uh the elevations and the amount of rainfall you guys expect down here. And then we had our drainage engineer come in. And all this is done by a drainage engineer and he did the aspect ratio. He did the calculations. He decided what size drainage tiles we'll put in, what capture veins we're going to put in, how big everything has to be to move that amount of water safely away. Now, we can't speak to drainage for anybody else. Sure. But this will be done properly and we're going to do everything we can to keep water away from the home. I can speak to it if if I may. I don't I don't want to break any rules. Yeah. If you want to identify yourself for the minutes. Yeah. Yeah.

He's actually the general contract. Uh Matt Floyd, ABG Property Services. Um I partnered with Henry on this project when the Banakas reached out to us. Um I can speak heavily to the drainage issues uh for almost all of our customers. We started out as really a premier dock builder. We build a lot of very high-end docks, boat houses, twotory party decks. I mean, electric over cable, boat lifts, everything like that. And it has uh spiraled into then we were doing decks on homes and we started doing the remodels and that's how I have learned the ladies here and Lonnie um with Brown County. Speak more into the microphone.

Sorry. the almost every project we've done has turned into when even when we just do a simple dock down at water level at grade we are we also do all the barge um and dredging for the conservancy so we have excavator on a barge pushbo we are constantly dredging digging out putting in drainage even before customers docks because everyone's grade I if you stand at eagle and look down to the water the elevation drop is substantial and it's been to where we've built $150,000 docks and the leaves in the fall end up on top of the docks because of the rainwater. What Henry has proposed with this and the drainage has excited all of us to fix that for the Banakas, stop their driveway from being a muddy mess. Um, I I feel completely confident in saying this will help and solve a lot of the neighbors water issues and the saturation coming from the Banakas with the way that it's going to be done. The amount of water that we'll be able to move there with this design and engineering is going to be incredible. And it will funnel it straight through the lake. It'll be through a stone bed so it gets filtered, silted out and done correctly and done to code. Um, you know, the the 3-FFT thing when when we talk about the house, I think it gets kind of misconstrued a little. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong way. We're raising the foundation of the basement up a foot. We're adding a foot between the floors as Mr. Dilberger had mentioned for the mechanicals. We're doing high efficiency furnaces. We're we're trying to leave a little bit better footprint. And in order to do that, you need the 8 in duct work. You know, it all kind of has a spiral effect. Um, when we tore into this basement when we were doing the demo work, I was standing there in the

mechanical room in front of the bathroom and I heard water running and I thought, "Water's been off for a week. No one's been here." And I went and looked in the shower drain in the basement at the very, it would be the east wall towards Eagle. Yeah.

The main foundation wall there. water is groundwater has leeched through all of their drain and everything underneath that foundation was gone. Water I I could see it running through the drain of a shower that hadn't been used in 6 months. So our our plan here to get that up that one foot is to get on better stone elevated try to get this water issue resolved so when we build you know this turned into a huge upset. We stood in that man's garage with him when he broke down into tears. When we discovered this, we found huge cracks in the foundation walls, mold everywhere, behind paneling, and that's when it was, "Okay, stop. I got Henry involved. This is a project too big for just ABG. I've seen this guy's work. We had been discussing for quite a while and I had all the faith in him and this has has proved it to us that we're just trying to get them back whole. And while we're doing it, they wanted to throw their twist on it, a little design work. And he wants a a little more square footage for his grandkids. And this is what has got us here unfortunately cuz trust me, I wish this had just been a remodel and they were already back in their house getting ready for spring. So,

did you guys have the discussion of look, this site's not going to support a two-story home? You know, we got to raise this way up to get you out of the water table and, you know, you can only do a one-story home. I did not because there was already, you know, I was calling it a two-story. They already had so much room there with the big they had a beautiful big walkout basement. Beautiful. Until we pulled the paneling off, you could smell it. table, but other

Yeah. Yeah. Um, part of their remodel was from the initial plans and the variance was they were adding square footage and basically some loft rooms with a new garage and that's where he was going with trying to get the square footage so all of the family, grandkids, great grandkids, everybody could come enjoy the Banana Lakehouse. Um, so in this idea, it was well, let's let's do you know, let's do what you're what you're wanting. of course, but we've also got to go back and try to at least get what they what they had. And you know, we're adding another couple bedrooms upstairs and connecting

this drainage system. It's going to be picking up a lot of water. Water tends to carry silt and mud with it. What kind of maintenance do you have to do on the system over?

Well, I can answer that for you if you'd like me to. As planned show, we have two cleanout boxes that are maintenance boxes um and both main locations on there. So, they'll have a spot where they can actually pull up a leaf catcher. So, right here, there'll be a trap right here before this burm. There'll be another trap right here cuz actually we're going to bring a secondary one down here. We were talking about last night. So there'll be actually another one here, but there's a trap here and a trap here. There'll be a box where they can actually come in, just pull the the box up, pull the leaf catch out, dump the leaves, and put it back in.

On your elevation, you're showing a couple boxes, something in this area. What What is it that What do you mean? This is a grade note. Well, this is going to be a barn. There'll be this right here indicates a ground barm. these. Yep. Yep. So, those right there are bushes. Oh,

yep. Just putting the bushes back for grading when that they had there. No, those are just bushes. So, there'll be two trap boxes right here. So, as this water gets caught through here, there'll be a trap here and a trap here, trap here, and a trap here. And Mr. Bianca is already aware that it's light maintenance. They can go out there, pull them out real easy. They clean the leaves out, put the trap boxes back in there. And that's how we're going to solve that issue of them getting the rest of the pipe is just large pipe and it's correct, just open open colum. Some of it is, some of it will be silt wrapped in uh fleece, but the main lines that are going to come down here will not be perforated. They'll be non-perforated tubing. Where do the the foundation drains tie back into that?

So, the foundation drains are going to follow the foundation and they'll come out and tie in here, come out, tie in here. They're also going to bring foundations under the main slab, and those will all get tied in and brought into there as well. They're also going to have a a inbasement sump put in. So, we'll be able to take on any water that does make it in. Hopefully, there won't be any because we're going to be waterproofing the concrete. I don't know if we had the uh the plumbing that showed those main drains. Yeah. No, that's not going to be part of the plumbing scheme. That's not necessary. I mean, you're talking about gravity stuff here anyway. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. You're very welcome. But we do plan on catching water post the street as close as we can get to the to the way there.

And this is this is a pump and hall, right? Correct. As far as the safety goes. Yep. It will be we have approval from the clean bases or catch bases there. Those will have they're going to be right at the surface so they can easily access them and monitor them from time to time. Correct. They need to they'll actually sit just above grade. Above grade. Yep. Okay. Any other questions from the board? Thank you both. Well, thank you for your time very much. Appreciate it. Can I get an opportunity to rep? Yes, sir. Mr. Heg, you are Mr. Heg, right? Right. Uhhuh. Okay. You don't identify yourself, I guess.

Uh, my name is Mark Heg. Uh, I just want to take a minute to rebut. Um, you know, nobody else in the Lake District has the height that they're requesting. They didn't site any other neighbors or anybody else on the lake that had a height of what they're requesting. And that height, the request of theirs, you know, anything and everything that came before is of no consequence. I feel sorry for him. I feel bad for him and all this, but economics alone, the regulation clearly says you must discount anything that's got to do with money. You know, anything got to do with cost. I hope that his drainage that he puts in works as well as he says it's going to. And if it does, I mean, I hope he puts one in that works that well. Believe me, I do. And why can't he just surround the house he's going to build with the same drainage and not elevate it, you know? Um, he has a blank slate and he's got a half acre. He's not shown or they've not shown any hardship here. There's no hardship that exists.

You can't say money. You can't say space. I won't. I just wanted to get, you know, okay, they have remedies and he's talking about the back of the house. You know, aesthetically, you have to discount. He wants a wraparound deck on the back side of his house. It's that wraparound that goes into the, you know, that extends out. That's purely aesthetic. You know, the zoning regulation says you have to discount. You can't because you don't like your neighbors. Forget it. If it's aesthetic, forget it. you know, it's just clear that he has to show a hardship and I don't believe they've shown any hardship here. But thank you. Appreciate it.

You're welcome. Appreciate it. Um, okay. I'm going to close the public hearing portion then and bring this back to the board for us to discuss discuss and uh and hopefully reach a decision on. Um, Shane, I never get to start with you. I don't want to go first. Oh, okay. Randy, nobody ever wants to go first. I don't like to go first.

Sure. Um, here's here's how I'm looking at it right now. I could be maybe persuaded otherwise, but if we have granted variances in the Lake District for decks, sheds, all kinds of things over the years. And in fact, for this particular home, we gave them a variance for a setback of 5.5 feet from the property line so they could take their detached garage and make it into a living space. So, um I guess would we be analyzing this any differently if instead of the home being torn down because of mold, if it had been partially destroyed by flood or fire was less than 50% destroyed and they wanted to rebuild and they came to us and said, "We want to put back what we had with the same footprint." Would we be concerned about that or would we say sure? So I wouldn't I would say sure if you have the same footprint and you just want to put back essentially what you had that would be okay with me and I would give them the variances. So why because the home is totally destroyed by mold um are we concerned about the variance? I guess if if they've got generally the same footprint I'm not seeing a problem with it. So, and I understand the concern about the height and I think money has something to do with it, but I also think that uh they are trying to come up with a drainage system that's reasonable and that will prevent the previous problems that occurred from occurring from the bad drain. So, I'm inclined to grant it. But

may I respond to that?

Sure. Yeah. We're all going to talk about this. First of all, um I think it's wrong to compare this variance with your thought process to the other variance because you had existing conditions at that time. And I think that that allowed some of what they're asking for now to have stayed in place before because you had the existing bill that was already there. Uh so I think you got to be and as far as the drainage, I think they have an obligation to do that whatever they put back. I don't I don't see that as being connected to what they're proposing here. Uh now that that's not to say that I'm I'm against this. I I understand what you what you're saying is it was there and if it was acceptable there, why wouldn't it be acceptable now? So I I I I disagree with some somehow you got there, but I think I agree with your conclusion. Jane, Randy, I'm I'm going to get you to go last. That's privilege of the chair. I'm not sure that the hardships are that compelling. Um, I've heard testimony from both sides. I've heard what you've said. What you're saying is that there could be some improvements made with the uh storm water with the flow and everything. Uh but I'm not sure that this really um comports well with what we're supposed to be looking at reviewing in terms of a hardship case. Um once again, we're put into a bad situation because of the location. Um, we have we see and have see more

requests for setbacks in this area than probably anywhere else because development has been allowed to put 10 lbs of potatoes in a 5 lb sack, right? That's just what it boils down to. Yeah, understood. So, anytime you want to change or modify or anything, right, we get into these type of things, right? and everyone is dealing from not from the get-go, but from the end product. Yeah,

that's the difficulty of a lot of this stuff. But I I I heard what Darvisa said and I think she's she's made some sense and but I I'm not compelled to I'd like to accommodate these folks, but the question is does accommodating them for what they're wanting to do actually rise to the level of a variance request? And I don't I don't at this point I don't believe it does. So, I'm not inclined to go ahead and and uh approve the variance. Jane, any any thoughts you want to share?

Um, I don't I don't really see a hardship. I mean, I I do understand wanting to make the home waterproof, the conditions and all that. I think that's admirable. And I I hate to see him spend another I don't know what we're talking about here, additional amount of money. That would be a hardship, but um I don't think it fits the definition of the hardship that we are at at this board are required to go on to use. So, I have I'm agreeing with Randy, I think.

Okay.

Um, well, here's my thoughts for what they're worth. Um, I'm I agree with Randy and Jane. I I have not heard I've not been persuaded about what the special circumstance here is. I mean, this is a this is the same sort of circumstances faced by every single property owner in one of these lake lots. Um, if there were a vacant lake lot, you know, I understand Darla's analogy to what if this was partially destroyed. Well, I'm going to make an analogy to what if this, well, if there was a vacant lake lot and somebody came to us and proposed building something on there and we want to, by the way, we want to exceed the setback requirements on a couple of sides and we want it to be, you know, a few feet higher than the ordinance allows. My response would be no. Um, you can't tell, you haven't told me that there's some special circumstances about this empty lot. It doesn't apply to any other empty lot in this place. So, I'm kind of with Mike. I the fact that there was a existing structure on here doesn't doesn't play into my decision about this request. um if they came and they said, "Okay, we want to build something new here and you know, we'd like to exceed some setback requirements. Um we think we have to do that in order to get the drainage we want." Then, you know, otherwise, if we don't get those requirements, then drainage is going to be bad. It's going to affect us and our neighbors. That's a different story. That's not the story we're getting here. Um, so I guess by all means it is a story you're getting. If we don't raise the house, then it is going to affect the drainage

because it's going to affect our ability to to be able to meet that 6 for 10. The h the proposed house. Yes, I get that. But what I'm saying is this this is essentially an empty lot here that somebody wants to build a home on. That's not true. Well, somebody's home's there. This is not This is not There was a home there. There was a home there. Somebody's home. Exactly. This is not somebody bought a lot and decided to build a house. Yes. That's not what this is. I I understand that. I understand that. But this also is an empty lot that somebody wants to build a home on. They want to replace their home. Yes, they do. Yes, they do. There's a difference.

Yes. And but they aren't coming to us to rebuild their home. They're coming to us to build a new home. That is their home they're rebuilding. Well, I appreciate that. But right now, this has come back to us on the board to talk about on ourselves and make a decision on. So I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you. I get it. I respect your decision. Sure. Sure.

So, you know, if I thought there was a special circumstance here, then I'd have to decide whether I think that creates a hardship that would justify Grant and the variance, I don't even have to reach the hardship decision myself. I don't see the special circumstance. So, that's where I am. And I I don't I don't see the need to make it exactly like it was. Yeah. I'm having trouble hearing down that table. No, I just said I don't see the need to make it pretty much exactly like it was.

Right. Okay. Well, if there's if there's further discussion, fine. If there's no further discussion, I'd entertain a motion.

I move to public. All right. I'll I'll but I'll make a motion. I'll I'll move that we deny docket number 26-V01 request for uh variances from side setback requirements and height requirements. I'll second the motion. Okay. Whoever you got first, Danielle. Okay. All right. One more time. Is there any further discussion on the motion? Okay. Um, Danielle, let's have a roll call vote when you're ready. Okay. John Dberger, yes. That's a motion to deny. Yes. Michael Harrison, yes.

Darla Brown, no. Randy Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. Okay. All right. I'm sorry. Your request has been denied. Well, we're done here then. Okay. I'm going to talk to my attorney. I am going to refile. I'm not going to let this go. Just so you know, you can put that on record, too. I've waited too long for this. Been too patient, done everything right. We'll be in touch.

You know what they say, you can't please all the people all of the time. It's true. Okay. Have Next item on the agenda tonight is docket number 26-se. This is a request for a special exception for a tourist home. We'll have a staff report when you're ready, Danielle. I'm sorry, Kayla.

Danielle and I tried to open the presentation at the same time, so I share it with you. So, yeah. Did it let you get in now?

I will. Yeah. Okay. Okay. This is the staff report for Helvy/TNC cabins LLC tourist home. Okay. This is docket number 26-se. Hearing date February 25th, 2026. postponed from January 28, 2026. Petitioner and property owner Josh Helvby for TN Cabins LLC. Request is a special exception for a three- guest room tourist home with a maximum occupancy of eight guests. Ordinance provisions: Brown County Area Board of Zoning Appeals Resolution 2022-01. Tourist home special exception guidelines and conditions in chapter 1 section two and chapter 3 sections one and four in the Brown County zoning ordinance. Location 7120 Ford Ridge Road, Nashville in Hamlin Township. The property is on the west side of the road and is approximately 250 ft north of the intersection of Ford Ridge Road and Three Notch Road. Zoning and current land use. The property is zoned secondary residential R2 and is currently vacant. General findings. One, the property consists of 5 acres and is currently vacant. Two, the petitioner is proposing a three- guest room tourist home with a maximum occupancy of eight guests. Three, the one-story home on a full basement will consist of approximately 1,936 ft of total floor space. The basement will contain a full bathroom, a large lounge area with bone beds, and a covered patio. The main floor will be

comprised of a master bedroom, full bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Four, the home will contain approximately 748 square ft of guest space, which exceeds the 50 square ft per guest space requirement for eight guests. Five, the home and the septic system are located outside the boundaries of the average 100-year flood as indicated on the flood insurance rate map. Six, the site plan shows parking area for six vehicles. This exceeds the minimum parking area requirement. Seven, a letter from South Central Indiana REMMC confirms that electrical service can be provided to the property. Eight, Brown County Water Utility, Inc. can provide water service to the property. Nine, the Brown County Health Department issued permit number 25-35425 for a 4bedroom presby. The system was installed and then inspected and approved on November 12th, 2025. 10. Brown County vacation rentals will manage the tourist home. 11. As this is new construction, the petitioner agrees to request an inspection to be completed by Hamlin Township Volunteer Fire Department after the construction has been completed. 12. According to the statement of request, the property boundaries will be marked. A map of the property will also be made available to guests inside the home. 13. Notice will be posted that the discharge of firearms is prohibited. 14. There are no residences within 250 ft of the proposed tourist home and no tourist homes located within 1320 ft of the proposed tourist home. Recommendation, if the board approves the petitioner's request, it should be based on the following conditions. One, all tourist home conditions and guidelines will be met. Two, the number of guests will be limited to eight. Three, a local management company will be used. Four, a satisfactory driveway

inspection will be completed by the Hamlin Township Volunteer Fire Department after the construction has been completed, and that's alluding to the construction of the driveway. I don't think I put that in there. Five, the property boundaries will be marked and a map will be made available to guests. Six, a notice that the discharge of firearms is prohibited. Findings of fact. The board may grant a special exception for use in a district if after a hearing under section 7.2. It finds that one section 3.1 of the Brown County zoning ordinance authorizes a special exception for this use in the designated district. Findings special exception for tourist homes are allowed on property zone secondary residential R2.

Kayla, if you'd like to just read the findings, that would be fine with me. Perfect. Thank you. a findings. The home contains pro every one of the these findings or just the summary at the end. The summary at the end would be fine with me. I think we received these already and had a chance to read them. So,

uh, finding staff finds no evidence that approving this application with the recommended conditions will materially and permanently injure other property or uses in the same district and vicinity. There's no evidence that the impact of this tourist home on neighboring property will be substantially different than the impact of tourist homes previously approved. Stack staff recommendation. If approved with the conditions listed, the petition appears to meet or exceed conditions A through H of the tourist home guidelines 2022-01. Therefore, staff recommends approval of the petition.

Thank you. Yes, this is north from the driveway on Ford Ridge Road. This is looking south. There's not a whole lot there, but I thought this was a nice mount of dirt here. Yep. That's the site. Uh I believe in the petitioner this this has something to do with the septics, the white Yeah. pipes. Oh, yeah. I see the stand pipe there. Okay. Okay. Is that the That's looking That must be the presby system. Yeah. Okay.

That's my assumption. Yeah. The petitioner is here though. Yeah.

This is the site plan that you guys have in your packet. Distances to the nearest residences. And then the nearest tourist home is approximately 4,200 ft away. And then um I believe I've got one addition here. This went through the state department of health. You guys have that in your packet, too. And was approved. I don't recall reading that just now in the staff report, though. And I may have said Brown County Health Department instead of state.

Yeah. Well, the permit was issued. You talking about septic? Yes. It was issued through the county health department. Yes. And then it went through uh the change of use. I was going to ask something about that because there's a statement at the end of it that addresses the state issues, but you have something else that we don't have. Um, you guys should have this too. It should be It's got Gmail at the top of it. And I just neglected to put that in the in the report, but that is from um the Indiana State Department of Health. The change of use request for TNA's tourist home is approved. Great.

And now that that's added to the record, the staff report is finished. Thank you. Any questions from the board for Kayla? All right. Uh sir, are you the petitioner? I am. Yeah. Would you like to add anything to Kayla's staff report? Anything you want to share with us? Kayla was perfect. I have nothing to add. All right. That That was recorded. It was actually I didn't hear you microphone out of 10.

Okay. All right. Um I don't think so. But is there anybody here tonight who wants to speak for or against this petition? I do not see anybody. So I'll bring this back to us on the board to discuss and uh reach a decision on it. I have I have a question for the petitioner. Oh, sure. Go right ahead. I'm sorry. It's a short one. Okay. Uh do you live in the county or I live in uh Boone County. Told you it was a short one. That was it. Thank you for that.

All right. Well, sir, before you step away on this site plan right here. Yes. Um, this is academic because we've already seen it's already gone in, but uh it doesn't actually show where the um it shows the tank septic tank, but I'm not showing where the uh presby field actually was put in here. I'm assuming it's just on the other side of the tank. No, the cycl doesn't show it. I thought it see uh do you see up there in the middle that squiggly line? Oh, you're up. And then it has the legend.

Yes, I do see he he ran it. Voil's excavation and septic install. That's where he I know that it's a split system, whatever that means. So that that is what I had photos of then. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I wasn't expecting the field to be quite that far from the tank, but I should have known better. So I wasn't either, but yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Is there anything to talk about as far as lighting? I mean, I want somebody asked a question about that, but it seems far enough away. It doesn't seem to be a problem other than maybe the entrance drive.

Well, we don't have anybody here to speak at the public hearing, but we did get one letter from uh that I I'll read into the record, not totally, but this was from uh Ryan and Allison Frenshaw. Uh they said, "We're nearby property owners and received notice of the public hearing, but won't be able to attend. They aren't opposed in principle to this, but they had some concerns about potential impacts uh such as noise, nighttime lighting. They had concerns about parking, but that's been addressed by the site plan. They had concerns about uh number of guests, but that's addressed by the special exception. Uh but they did ask uh they had some concerns about noise or nighttime parking. They were asking, you know, are there going to be quiet hours or uh, you know, do you want to speak to any of that? You don't need to, but you're welcome to if you want to.

Sure. Uh, Brown County Vacation Rentals will manage it. And I've actually built five ultra luxury um, properties like this in the Smoky Mountains. And I'm also the president of the HOA. And one thing that we're cognizant of is respectful to the neighbors. Um, we put that in our rental agreement. Um, when quiet hours are, and this is specifically designed for either couples or a small family, so it doesn't get crazy and it's not a party scene. Um, also in lighting, we use downward-f facing lights. And on the exterior, we try to keep it at 15 watts um, with downward facing lights. Okay. So, we try to keep everything as communityfriendly as possible.

Are you going to have any lighting at the entrance so they can find it if they're coming in? Um, in Tennessee we often don't, but out by the road we may have a a low-key lantern entrance light. Okay, thank you for that. Any other questions for the petitioner? Okay, thanks a lot. Thank you, Jane. What are your thoughts?

Well, I mean it meets all the requirements, but I think you know my opinion and we have way too many tourists in this this county. I think I have heard you express that once or twice. Yes, it's it's a nice one and it meets all the requirements. So, Randy, I have no I really don't have any issues with this. D, I don't have any problem with it. I think it's a slam dunk.

I also don't have any issues with this. I'd have no issues granting it um with some of the conditions that Kayla outlined for us to consider. Um all right, I'll entertain a motion then sense that there's anything further to discuss. I move that we approve document number 26-sec1 for a special exception for a three guest room tourist home with a maximum occupancy of eight guests on the following conditions. All tourist home conditions and guidelines will be met. The number of guests will be limited to eight. A local management company will be used. A satisfactory driveway inspection will be completed by the Hanwood Township Volunteer Fire Department after the construction has been completed. The property boundaries will be marked and a map will be made available to guests. And finally, a notice will be posted that the discharge of firearms is prohibited.

I will second that motion. Would you be okay to amend that just to add the word driveway before construction has been completed? Yes. For number four. For number four. Yes. Okay. I will second that amended motion. Okay. If that's what we want to call it. Yep. All right. Thanks. Um, let's have a roll call vote when you're ready, Danielle. Okay. Michael Harrison, yes. Darla Brown, yes. Randy Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. John Dilberger, yes. Your request is approved. Thank you.

Do we have a lot of business next month? We have four. I won't be here. Okay. All right. You say we have four. We do. Okay. Two variances. One special exception site plan amendment for tourist home and then the wastewater treatment plant for Helmsburg. Okay. You going to be here for that one, Mike? Yes. Okay. Good. Do with that many do we want to start? Not you, Darla, but do do we want to start earlier? Um dockets haven't gone out yet. So the the cards and the legal notices,

is this an expansion or an upgrade or a remodel? This will be um they've they've gotten more property for the Palmsburg Regional Sewer District and there is a an issue of imminent failure for the current wastewater treatment plant. Oh, there he is. So, they've got to rebuild. So, are they under an IDM order or Yeah, I think so. I have not heard that part. I think they're trying to be proactive not to be under an IDM order. Most of them have trouble expensive. I mean, I'm just thinking that's probably what it is, darling. But I don't know that for a fact. I I don't know.

I know they're looking for expansion out there to pick up more customers. So, maybe they're taking this expansion on their own as far as a plant goes, which they would have to do. They could be. Um, I have I had a presubmission meeting with I believe it's Lock Mueller Group in March of 25. So, this is something that's been kind of in the works for a year. For a year. Yeah. So, is this a variance or is going to be on It's a special exception. They need a special exception to expand the plant.

No. So, they they're going to have to So, they've bought another property. They're going to have to change the site plan completely because the previous site plan is on the first property, which they're now going to have to drive through the first property to get to the second property. Okay. Where they want to build the new plant. Not a reason. Not a reason. Oh, okay. I uh I trust you'll explain it to me completely in your staff report. I certainly hope I can put up new road signs. Yeah. All right. So, this is new construction, but they still need a special exception for this. Yes. Okay. Yeah.

Cuz it's not a use that's allowed on the property as it's zoned now. Is that correct? Correct. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Got it. All right. Um Well, I I don't know. We've handled four We've handled five and six agenda items at night before. I I just don't know that. I mean, how do other people feel? Do you want to start before 6:00 or? I can't. Okay. All right. Leave it early as it is. Yeah. I I'm inclined to keep it at 6 and and I think we can do that with with two variances and then an amendment. I don't think it would that's what I'm thinking too. Yeah. They're not really changing the footprint of the plant. I mean, they're just Yeah.

need some approvals for They're redoing the whole thing. Well, I know, but are they actually they're are they actually adding additional acreage? So, just barely just changing the plant itself in terms of roads and directional flow and that type of thing. So, they're building an entirely new plant on the parcel next door. Okay. Does that Did that help? Yes, I did. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Because the new one has to be up and operational before they can shut down the old system. It'd be a good idea. Yeah. So they just basically they they need a special exception to build another sewage treatment plant. Yeah. Yeah. At which point they'll be able to discontin using the old one. Yes.

Yeah. Okay. They need an exception to take out the old one. They do not. Okay. All right. Got it. Um Dave, did you have any updates or announcements for us? No. Okay. Good. All right. Well, I I would entertain a motion to adjurnn that. So move. I'll second that. Uh roll call. Move to adjourn, please. Okay. Brown, yes. Jones, yes. Jane Gore, yes. John Dilberger, yes. Michael Harrison, yes. Meeting is a journ. All right. And