Meeting at 3292 Montgomery Road
DEERFIELD
TOWNSHIP
Landen Station Shopping
Center BOARD
OF ZONING APPEALS
Deerfield Township Meeting Room
6:30 PM – AUGUST 11th, 2005
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: By Brian
Leary
ROLL CALL:
Cherry Linder, William Heckman, Brian Leary, James Klatte, and Alternate Mike
Kean were present. James Rinehart was absent. Also present was Township
Attorney, Andrew Gleason.
Minutes
Motion to approve minutes of 07/14/05 by _James
Klatte 2nd by _Cherry
Linder.
Roll Call: Brian
Leary-Yes, James Klatte-Yes, Cherry Linder-Yes, William Heckman-Yes, Mike Kean-Yes
The motion was approved.
Brian Leary
Administered the oath to those giving testimony.
CASE 2005-448
Appeal to setback of AC Unit & Utilities @7829
Plantation Drive, Lot 92,
Greenfield Place 2
Staff
Presentation Lois McKnight explained
the request for the variance at the 7829 Plantation Drive from Don & Anita
Pippin. Ms. McKnight said she explained to the Pippins that the house is in
compliance with the township zoning code and zoning does not regulate the
locations of the Air Conditioner units on properties. She said there was a
meeting with the Pippins, Joel Smiddy, the builders of both houses, and the
Warren County Water and Soil Conservation District to resolve the concerns.
There was discussion on the home builder adding landscaping to screen the unit.
She said the Zoning Department does not review anything to do with HVAC
equipment. This is the case in zoning with most jurisdictions. There are a
number of locations within the district where this is occurring. Ms. McKnight
said there is nothing in our code stating that HAVC units must not encroach into
the 5 feet minimum setback. The edge of the AC unit is approximately 2 feet
from the property line. Ms. McKnight read a letter dated 8/3/05, from the
Pippins. Ms. McKnight showed a photo of the AC unit on the house and the
Pippin’s driveway beside it. Cherry Linder said setback rules apply to
structures and there are no zoning rules regarding Air Conditioning units.
Cherry asked so why are we hearing this case. Ms. McKnight said that the case
is being heard because the resident appealed and they have a right to appeal her
decision. Cherry Linder asked what this has to do with zoning. Andrew Gleason
said that any resident that is affected by this Zoning Code has as a right to
appeal that to this board. Any plan which has been approved by the Zoning
Inspector can be appealed. Before any official legal action could be taken they
must do this first. Brian Leary asked where are the utilities located on the
house of the person who complained. Lois said they are on the back of the house
facing Butler-Warren Road. Jim Klatte asked if the house was completed and
occupied. Lois said yes. Brian Leary said our current code covers the
structure, not the AC unit. Lois said correct. Cherry Linder said so they are
disputing the fact that the Zoning Inspector passed the house as is. Brian
Leary asked for the proponent to come forward.
Proponent
Anita Pippin, 7845 Plantation Drive,
said there has been an on going drainage problem which has been
corrected at the neighbor’s house and Fischer will be doing something on her
property to correct her problem. She said when her son tries to play basketball
and the AC unit is 6 inches from the property line, she is concerned the ball
will damage the unit. She believes this closeness will hurt them when they
decide to sell the home. She doesn’t like the noise from the unit. She said
there are some units in the neighborhood which are in the back of the homes.
Jim Klatte asked her if the HOA is aware of the problems. She said they are
aware. Ms. Pippin said in the book it says that one homeowner cannot prohibit
the enjoyment of another homeowner. Mike Kean asked if there is a gap between
the AC unit and the brick wall of the house. Ms. Pippin didn’t know about the
gap. Mr. Leary asked if there was anyone else who wanted to talk about this
case.
Garry Brasch,
11135 Montgomery Road, #Suite 8, Cinti., OH 45241,
said he is the builder of the home at 7829 Plantation Drive. Mr.
Brasch distributed a list of 21 addressed in the same neighborhood where the
homes have the AC unit located in the same place. Mr. Brasch said they regraded
the lot also to correct some drainage problems. Mr. Brasch said he has met with
Lois McKnight and the county two times to try to get an amicable solution to
this. All along from day one the homes were planned to drain from the back to
the front of the homes then to the street. Mr. Brasch said they regraded and
put in a drain to try and remedy the water problem on Ms. Pippin’s yard. Mr.
Brasch said the list of 21 homes shows that there are many other homes with the
AC units on the side. Mr. Brasch said the occupants of the house at 7829
Plantation Drive were pleased and he believed they were in compliance.
Cherry Linder asked Mr. Brasch to explain
what is involved and how expensive would it be to move the air conditioning
unit. Mr. Brasch said where the furnace is located indicates where the AC unit
should go. He said moving the Freon line is the biggest cost and he said the
cost would be $400-$500 to move the line. Mr. Brasch said if you put the unit
on the back then there could be a patio and this could be noisy there. He also
explained moving the Freon line to the back of the house would affect the
basement ductwork location; therefore finishing the basement would be more
costly. Mr. Leary closed discussion to the floor and asked for board
discussion.
Discussion
Mr. Leary said this is an unfortunate situation and
suggested they camouflage or hide the unit. Cherry Linder said she does not
believe this is a zoning issue and does not agree with the appeal.
Motion
Motion by Cherry Linder to deny Case 2005-448, the
appeal of the setback
at 7829 Plantation Drive.
2nd by James Klatte
Roll Call James
Klatte-Yes, William Heckman-Yes, Cherry Linder-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes, Mike Kean-Yes
The motion was approved.
Old Business
CASE 2005-265
Continuation of Conditional Use in Residential Single Family ,
for a
Synagogue @ 8596 Lake Chetac Drive
Staff Report
Maynank Kumar said the applicant has submitted a
revised plan. The parking spaces have been increased to 55. The building will
be made smaller with the decrease of the building by 33%. He gave reports from
various agencies. The Deerfield Township Public Works reported that the 18 feet
wide road at the time it was built was built to the Warren County Standard and
is structurally sound. The current standard is 24 feet wide. The Deerfield
Township Fire Rescue suggested no parking on either side of the street, leaving
enough space for emergency vehicles to come down the street. The Warren County
Engineer does not believe there would be a problem with the 18 feet wide street
since there are many other streets in the county and there are no problems with
them. The Engineer reported that the existing building is located within the
100 year flood plain which is confirmed through the FEMA maps. Those limits are
dependent on the computer model and the computer model assumes that the Lake
Chetac dam is intact. The dam has been breached for years and no longer holds
back water. The Engineers suggested a map amendment from FEMA which could be
time consuming. There also may be a need for flood insurance. Mr. Kumar said
that the township should require an elevation certificate stamped by a
professional surveyor verifying that the lowest building floor is a minimum of 1
foot higher than the FEMA Base Flood Elevation. Mr. Kumar said the board may
approve or not approve but in the event of approval of this case there were 14
suggested conditions as follows:
1.
A formal set of drawings including all site
improvement and details, drawn to scale not exceeding 1:100, shall be submitted
addressing all the conditions listed below. No permit of any kind shall be
issued without receipt of such information.
2.
All existing parking for the user of the facility
shall be limited to on-site and shall not be permitted within the public
right-of-ways.
3.
The parking lot and access drives shall be improved
in compliance with Section 20.05, Development and Maintenance of Parking Areas,
of Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution. No parking stalls shall be located any
closer than thirty-five (35) feet from the existing road.
4.
One (1) off-street loading space of 10’x25’ shall
be required in compliance with Section 20.08, Off-Street Loading Design
Standards, of Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution. The layout of provided
loading space and handicap parking shall be modified to avoid any conflict for
use of such spaces.
5.
A Landscaping Plan shall be submitted in compliance
with Chapter 22, Bufferyards and Landscaping, of Deerfield Township Zoning
Resolution including specifications (type and size) of all proposed planting
materials.
6.
All activity on the entire facility shall be
limited to 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on any day.
7.
No part of the synagogue shall be used for living
accommodations or transient lodging in any manner.
8.
Project lighting shall substantially comply with
the Lighting Plan dated 7-06-05.
9.
Signage shall be in compliance with Chapter 22,
Signs, of Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution.
10.
Owner shall provide a letter of approval from
Warren County Engineer’s Office for the interior circulation, site improvement,
and Stormwater Management.
11.
Owner shall provide a letter of approval from
Deerfield Township Fire Department for interior circulation, emergency access,
and location of fire hydrants.
12.
Owner shall provide a letter of approval from
Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District for Soil and Erosion Control.
13.
Prior to issuance of Zoning Permit, owner shall
provide an elevation certificate stamped by a professional surveyor verifying
that the lowest building floor is a minimum of 1-foot higher that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Base Flood Elevation,
which shall be confirmed by the Warren County Engineers’ Office.”
14.
Compliance with Warren County Subdivision
Regulations, if applicable.
Cherry Linder
asked about the elevation of the structure. If a older structure is in place is
it “grandfathered in?” Mr. Kumar said the original site was the industrial
use. If that industrial use was continued that would be grandfathered if it
stopped for just a short time. That use has not been there for over 5 years.
Proponent
Tim Branham, 6449 Snidercrest Road, Mason,
thanked Mayank Kumar and the board for working on this and
hearing the case again. Mr. Branham introduced the engineer for the site.
William R.
Yoakam, 675 East State Route 73, Springboro, OH,
thanked Mr. Kumar for his presentation and asked why his document that was
submitted to Mr. Kumar, which he calls an elevation certification, was not
accepted. Mr. Yoakam said he spoke with the Warren County Engineer, Chuck
Petty, and he believes this document he gave to the township is the one which
the county required. Mr. Yoakam said that the elevation of the floor of the
building is 876.35. Mr. Yoakam said the previous calculations from 1987 were
considering the dam was intact. The dam no longer exists therefore those
calculations are no longer accurate. He said the elevation of the water is
lower since this dam is gone. Mr. Yoakam said the elevation of the floor is 2
feet higher than what was in 1987 and the elevation of the lake is lower now
since the dam is no longer there.
Martin Fish,
8903 Penfield Way, President of the Congregation,
thanked the board for hearing this case. Mr. Fish said that from last month’s
meeting there were two issues, the traffic and parking issues. He said they
plan to demolish 1/3 of the building and have added more parking spaces. Mr.
Fish said he is concerned that to get that change on the FEMA maps amended would
take a long time 3-6 months. Mr. Fish said this is a one acre plat with the
building falling apart and said this proposed use would be an improvement to
this property.
Barry Austern,
4421 Edenton Lane, Blue Ash,Treasurer of the Congregation,
said if the building would be torn down and they decided to build a house on the
site, the house would be in the flood plain also.
Raymond
Bolinger, 6813 Lake Chetac Drive, said he lives
almost directly across the street from this property. Mr. Bolinger said many
people are purchasing old homes and tearing them down and putting in new homes.
He asked how the children in the classrooms would be transported. He was
concerned about traffic. He was concerned about how adequate are the sewer
lines.
Barry Austern,
4421 Edenton Lane, Blue Ash,Treasurer of the Congregation,
said he worked for the EPA almost 35 years in waste water. Mr. Austern said per
capita use per person is about 50 gallons per day. That includes toilet
flushing, showering, clothes washing, dish washing, etc. Mr. Austern said since
the people will only be there a few days a week the waste water generated would
not be as much as a house. Mr. Leary asked about the synagogue classes and Mr.
Austern said it would be like other churches, synagogue, mosques, etc. just a
couple days each week. Mayank said the report from Dick Renneker regarding the
use of the Warren County Sanitary Sewer indicated that sewer line would be
sufficient.
Mr. Leary asked Mayank what the board
should do regarding the flood plain. Mayank Kumar said regarding the flood
plain, Condition #13, that he would make sure Chuck Pettey at Warren County
Engineers reviewed that. Lois said that Condition #13 should be changed to
reflect that.
Mr. Leary said he wanted to bring up one
other issue. He said he noticed that Condition #6, limits the hours of
operation. Mr. Leary said traffic, parking, fire and rescue shouldn’t be an
issue but that there would be concerns if this be occupied every day. Cherry
Linder said we should not be predicting the future. Mr. Kean asked where the
suggestion that the hours be from 8:00 to 11:00 came from. Mr. Kumar said that
this “limiting the hours” condition came from another case previously in 2001 at
a church with a fellowship hall which was located in a residential
neighborhood. Mr. Klatte asked about the handicapped parking spot. Mr. Kumar
said they will get that resolved. There was discussion on the request from the
DTFR that parking be restricted on this street. Mr. Kumar suggested adding to
Condition #13 “which shall be confirmed by Warren County Engineers’
Office.” Mr. Kean asked who would be responsible for applying to FEMA
to get their model changed. Mr. Kumar said that if the Warren County Engineers
would not give their confirmation, they would give direction to the applicant on
what they should do.
Motion
Motion by William Heckman to approve Case 2005-265
including the 14
Conditions with a modification to Condition #13. There was a 2nd
by Cherry
Linder.
Roll Call James
Klatte-Yes, William Heckman-Yes, Cherry Linder-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes, Mike Kean-Yes
The motion was approved.
Ms. Linder
said the congregation has made every effort to try to do what was asked. Mr.
Klatte thanked them for being willing to come back a second time.
New Business
Lois McKnight said that Mr. Andrew Gleason, our
township attorney, will be moving to Arizona and will no longer be working with
us. Ms. McKnight said his law firm has a new person to work with us. Mr.
Gleason introduced Bridgette McGraw as our new township attorney. Brian Leary
welcomed Bridgette to work with us.
Adjourn
Motion by Mike Kean to adjourn. 2ndby
James Klatte
Roll Call
William Heckman-Yes, Cherry Linder-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes, James Klatte-Yes, Mike
Kean-Yes The motion was approved.
____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Brian Leary, Chairperson
Date William Heckman,
Secretary Date
H BZA08_11_05.MIN
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