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DEERFIELD
TOWNSHIP
BOARD OF
ZONING APPEALS
6:30 PM –
MAY 10th, 2007
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER:
James Klatte, Chairman
ROLL
CALL:
William Heckman,
Brian Leary, James Klatte, Mike
Kean, and Alternate Greg Porta were
all presents. James Rinehart
was absent with notice. Dan Hendy, Township legal advisor was also in
attendance. Assistant Administrator Peggy Wheeler was also in attendance.
Minutes Motion by
Greg Porta to approve the minutes of
03/08/07 as was written.
Second by
James Klatte.
Roll Call: Brian
Leary-Abstained, James Klatte-Yes, Mike Kean-Yes, William Heckman-
Abstained, Greg Porta-Yes. The
motion was approved.
Mr. Klatte
explained how the meeting would proceed. Township attorney, Daniel Hendy
administered the oath to those who planned on giving testimony.
Case
#2007-160
Variance to Section 25.09 A.1, to construct an in ground pool in the back
side
yard, 5 feet from the property
line, 5562 Squire’s Gate Drive
Staff
Report
Hayfaa Wadih explained that the applicant wanted to build a
pool in the side yard with a 5 feet setback. The creek on the property made it
impossible to put the pool in the area which would be in compliance with our
zoning code. The code requirement is a minimum 10 feet setback therefore a
variance would be needed.
Brian Leary asked if there were
any other pools in the area in the side yard? Ms. Wadih said no. Mr. Klatte
asked for the applicant to speak.
Proponent Todd Hiners, 5562 Squire’s
Gate Drive,
said that due to some health problems he decided to plan a pool for
family enjoyment. Brian
Leary asked him if the size of the pool caused the need for the variance. Mr.
Hiners said the need comes from slope of the property and the location of the
creek. Mr. Hiners had the property re-surveyed and in the process to re-plat
the two lots into one lot. Ms. Wadih said the property was hilly. Mr. Hiners
said only a corner would be close to property line and they were waiting for
plans from the landscaper and planner. It is a quality pool that would cost
$75,000-$100,000. Mr. Porta asked if the extra lot is actually “unbuildable.
Mr. Hiners said Warren
County put a sewer line there and it has been designated as “surplus land”, and
he is trying to combine the two lots into one. Mr. Klatte asked for any public
who wanted to talk. There was none.
Motion by
Brian Leary to approve Case
2007-160 granting the variance for 5562 Squire’s Gate Drive. 2nd by
Greg Porta
Roll Call James Klatte-Yes,
Brian Leary-Yes, William Heckman-Yes, Greg Porta-Yes,
Mike Kean-Yes; the motion was
approved.
Dan
Hendy asked the audience if any of them wanted to speak regarding a case to file
out a form and turn it in to the board.
Case
#2007-169
Requesting Conditional
Permitted Use adding 8 parking spaces located at the
Kings Mills Baptist Church
Annex Building, 1659 Church Street
Staff
Report
Hayfaa Wadih explained the
location of the subject property and said it was surrounded by residential use.
She explained that applicant is proposing to replace a grassy space of the Kings
Mills Baptist Church Annex Building with eight (8) parking spaces. She
explained the church has a need for additional parking and that the church came
before the board in 2005 with a request to build a garage which never
materialized. She pointed out the building and the grassy area and emphasized
that staff would like to see some bushes as a buffer to protect the residential
use on the adjacent property and there would be staff suggestions if the board
would choose to approve the application. Greg Porta asked if the 24 feet curb
cut was already there. Ms. Wadih said that area is now grass and that is where
they propose the curb cut. Brian Leary asked if there was a drainage easement
or swale. Ms. Wadih said no. Mr. Klatte asked for the applicant to speak.
Proponent Larry Cunningham, Childers &
Cunningham Architects,
2355 Park Avenue,
Cinti., OH
45226, said he agreed with the suggestion from staff to add more landscaping on
the three sides. Mr. Cunningham said he has spoken with
Warren
County and he is planning to work with them (WC) if this is approved to comply
with the Warren County storm water management requirement. Brian Leary asked
him if they would be presenting a landscaping plan to the staff. Mr. Cunningham
said they had a plan and the staff suggested adding more and they would be
willing to do that. Greg Porta asked for clarification on the current parking
situation. Mr. Klatte asked if there were more questions. There were none. He
asked for any public who wanted to comment. There was none.
Motion
Motion by Mike Kean to permit
the conditional use in Case 2007-169 subject to the conditions as set forth by
the staff. Second by Mike Kean.
Roll Call: Mike Kean-Yes,
James Klatte-Yes, Greg Porta-Yes,
William Heckman-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes. The motion was approved.
1.
The proposed Conditional Use will comply with all applicable regulations
of this Resolution, including lot size requirements, development standards and
use limitations.
2.
Adequate utility, drainage and other such necessary facilities have been
or will be provided.
3.
Adequate access roads or entrance and exit drives will be provided and
will be so designed as to prevent traffic hazards and to minimize traffic
conflicts and congestion to public street and alleys.
4.
All necessary permits, and licenses for the use and operations of the
Conditional Use have been obtained, or evidence has been submitted that such
permits and licenses are obtainable for the proposed Conditional Use on the
subject property.
5.
The location and size of the Conditional Use, the nature and intensity of
the operation involved or conducted in connection with it, the size of the site
in relation to it, and the location of the site with respect to streets giving
access to it, shall be such that it will be in harmony with the appropriate and
orderly development of the district in which it is located.
6.
The location, nature, and height of the building, structures, walls, and
fences on the site and the nature and extent of landscaping and screening on the
site shall be such that the use will not unreasonably hinder or discourage the
appropriate development, use and enjoyment of adjacent land, buildings and
structures.
7.
Evidence that the Conditional Use desired will not adversely affect the
public health, safety and morals.
Case
#2007-180
Requesting a Modification to
the Approved Conditional Use adding a ground
mounted sign at the southeast
corner of the site, for the
North Cincinnati
Community Church, 6170
Irwin-Simpson Road
Staff
Report
Hayfaa Wadih explained the
location of the proposed sign on the property. The proposed sign was 192 inched
by 175 inches high. Ms. Wadih quoted the code requirement for signs. The sign
would be 40 square feet. The property is a panhandle lot which does not have
much frontage. There is currently a ground mounted sign on the property. Ms.
Wadih believed the proposed sign would replace the old one. Greg Porta asked if
the previous sign had a permit. Ms. Wadih said she couldn’t find that a permit
was done for that sign. Brian Leary asked if there were any other signs like
this one in the area. Ms. Wadih said she didn’t believe there were any similar
signs nearby. Mr. Klatte asked for the applicant to come forward.
Proponent Senior Pastor Walter Wood,
4544 Placepoint Drive, Mason, OH., said this was the culmination of Phase 1 of a
building program which started in 2001 and 2002. He said they rented space in
1994 for the church and the township was instrumental in directing the church to
this vacant land owned by George and Betty Rogers. He said that budget concerns
didn’t allow them to build a permanent sign at their entrance earlier. He said
the sign would be ground illuminated and he wanted their property to be an asset
to the community. He said the length of their name is one of the reasons for
the requested size of the sign.
Board
Questions
Brian Leary asked if there
would be landscaping around the sign. Mr. Wood said yes there would. He said
there was a landscape plan for around the sign. Jim Klatte asked if the
lighting would be on a timer. Mr. Wood said all of their lights, driveway
lights and parking lot lights were on a timer. Mike Kean asked how they arrived
at the size of this sign. Mr. Wood said they considered the visibility issues
and the length of the name. The base of it matched our architecture. Mr. Kean
asked if there were other signs such as an entrance or exit signs. Mr. Wood
said no. Mr. Klatte asked if there were other questions. There were none so he
asked for the architect to come forward.
Rob
Steiner, Hi-Tech Signs, 4575 Thunderbird Lane, Fairfield, OH 45214, said he was the architect of the sign. Mr. Klatte
asked how they came up with the large, non-compliant size for the sign. Mr.
Steiner explained the process of coming up with this size due to visibility
factor and long name. Mr. Porta asked if the temporary sign would come down.
They said the old sign would be removed.
Bill Heckman said he had a
difficult time believing the zoning code compliant size sign would not be
visible. Mr. Steiner said the base of the sign is stone to match their
building. Brian Leary said the sign is 50% over the code required size and
height. Mr. Steiner said that he could decrease the base to come up with the
five (5) feet maximum height. Mr. Klatte asked for any more questions.
Senior Pastor Walter Wood, 4544 Placepoint Drive, Mason, OH,
said the size of the present temporary sign was installed from the beginning and
he said he would take responsibility for that and he apologized for the fact
that it was not in compliance with the township zoning rules and that it was not
properly permitted. Mr. Klatte asked for any more people who wanted to speak.
There was none. He closed this portion of the meeting.
Board Questions
Brian Leary said aesthetically
it was one of the nicer signs they have seen. Mike Kean said it could be made
smaller but they could leave the lettering the same size. The board discussed
this issue. Mr. Klatte asked for Pastor Wood to come back to the podium. Mr.
Klatte said a sign this size is way out of what we could approve and asked him
if he could make some changes.
Senior Pastor Walter Wood, 4544 Placepoint Drive, Mason, OH,
said he would certainly adhere to the wishes of the board but said he believed
he needed this size.
There was
more discussion among the board members regarding making the sign smaller.
Brian Leary said the width didn’t bother him as much as the height. They
suggested five (5) feet with a sign face area of 32 square feet. Ms. Wadih
worked with the board on what they wanted in the motion.
Motion
Motion by Mike Kean to
approve Case 2007-180 with modification to their original plan including 3
conditions. Second by
Brian Leary
Roll Call: Greg Porta-No,
James Klatte-Yes, William
Heckman-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes, Mike Kean. The motion was approved.
1.
Approval of
one (1) ground mounted sign to replace the existing sign. The said sign shall
have a maximum height of five (5) feet and a maximum sign face area of 32 square
feet.
2.
Sign shall be
located on the same lot to which it is an accessory use and shall be located no
closer than five (5) feet from the right of way.
3.
If lighting is
added, lights shall not cause any disturbance/blur onto the right of way.
Case
#2007-181
Requesting Conditional
Permitted Use for a religious place of worship, Section
10.04, Deerfield
Township Zoning Resolution for Konstantin Misyukovets, located
Staff
Report
Hayfaa Wadih explained the location, number of parking
spaces, buffer, size of building, and elevation. Ms. Wadih explained the number
of meetings per week and which days they would take place. She also talked
about how most churches are built in residential areas as a conditional use.
She talked about the history of several other churches in the Landen area. She
said no traffic impact study would be needed due to the hours they would be
meeting in the building. Ms. Wadih said staff talked to Warren County Water and
Soil Conservation in order to avoid any negative storm water impact on the
surrounding community. She said many residents have called her regarding the
wooded area behind the church with their concerns.
Greg Porta asked if the fire department had reviewed this plan. Ms.
Wadih said no, not until approval would they get involved. Mr. Porta said he
still would like to know the fire department’s impression. Ms. Wadih said Mr.
Porta could table the case if he feels more information is needed. Brian
Leary asked if this lot was residential and wanted to see where the former house
was located. Ms. Wadih said even if a house was built there many trees would
probably have to be removed. Mr. Klatte closed this portion of the meeting and
asked for the proponent to come forward.
Proponent Konstantin Misyukovets,
851 Conners Court, Loveland,
OH, said the
church purchased the lot five months ago. Their church started five years ago.
They have a congregation of around 100 and they purchased this lot because of
the location and price. They are currently meeting at Beth Messiah’s building.
He said he has planned to work with the Zoning Department to save the trees in
the back and even plant more.
Board
Questions
Greg Porta asked about the building since the board had no idea what the
building would look like. Mr. Misyukovets said they would try to make the
building look like the residential homes nearby with stucco and brick and be no
higher than a two story house. Mr. Porta asked about the use of the back side
of the building. Mr. Misyukovets said that would be for offices and
classrooms. Mr. Porta asked if the front of the building was one story and back
would be two story. Mr. Misyukovets said that was correct. Mr. Porta was very
concerned about the closeness of the resident in the cul-de-sac and he said the
15 feet buffer on the side of the building would not be very much. Mr.
Misyukovets said they could change the back two story area of the building to
one story. Brian Leary
was concerned about the height of the proposed building and two different
heights shown. Hayfaa Wadih said his first application did not include the
façade. In the beginning that was an estimate but the second application had
the correct height detail. Ms. Wadih said the church worked with the staff to
comply with the code and on the 15 feet on the side.
Dan Hendy
said it was this board’s responsibility to see if this plan could fit into the
residential character of the neighborhood and if this would be approved, for the
board to make sure of that. Jim Klatte asked about the use of the building and
working with troubled teens. Mr. Misyukovets said that was not a full time
ministry but that he would be interested in helping those who are in need.
Brian Leary asked about the windows shown there and would there be window
treatments. Mr. Misyukovets said there would be curtains. Bill Heckman asked
what is south of the property. Ms. Wadih explained that to the south was a
single family home. Mr. Klatte asked if there were any other proponents who
wanted to speak.
Gene
Petropavlovskiy, 6910 Sequoia Court, Mason, OH,
said his neighbor recently built a barn 10 feet from his property line.
He said he loved this country and has been here for 15 years and he likes it
because of equal rights. He said he sees himself like the early Americans who
immigrated to this country. He said they have been renting from Beth Messiah
for three years and he pointed out on the map where Beth Messiah was located and
to the single family residential n the surrounding. He stressed that the
building would be attractive. He came to this country for the freedom and to
pursue the dream of practicing his religion freely. He asked the residents to
love them and the Russians will be a blessing to them. Mr. Klatte asked him to
address the board not the audience.
Edgar Sergut, 1717 Cottingtin,
said he came to America 15 years ago as a refugee. He said his grandfather was
jailed and his nephew was persecuted under the Soviet terror. He said he was in
America for the freedom. He said he was in shock because of the reaction of
some of the people. He was surprised to see many people would be against a
church building. There were no more speakers for the proponent so Mr. Klatte
asked for the public to come and speak.
Mike Kean
told the Russian church people that this case is about a structure and not
against people and the board is here to review the case in term of building
compatibility use with the area.
Mr. Klatte
said the board would be hearing comments from concerned citizens and he told
them they would be limited to talking for three minutes.
Concerned Citizens Pat Lester,
8862 Pollard Place,
said she loves living here and this is a very peaceful place to live.
She asked the board to reject this church structure due to storm water
concerns. She heard in an earlier case that North Community Church has 15
acres. She said this lot was too small. She was concerned about her property
values. Greg Porta told
her that the drainage in her back yard should not get any worse due to the fact
that Warren County would be reviewing plans prior to any more development.
Matthew Ritter, 8899 Pollard Place,
talked about some growth and negative changes near his neighborhood. He was
concerned about the large size of the building on the narrow lot and the safety
issues in case of fire. He told the church that he hoped they could find
another property.
Carrie Herron, 8874 Pollard Place,
said the residents are not
negative about the Russian people. She asked the staff what day of the week the
traffic engineers looked at the traffic. Ms. Wadih said they did not come out
here but looked at a traffic impact study and using the size of the building
calculating the number of cars. Ms. Herron said Beth Messiah was built prior to
the building of the neighborhood behind it so that is why that has worked. Ms.
Herron said a group of residents tried to purchase this property and keep it for
green space and the group would still be interested in purchasing this property.
Frank Kraller, Underwater World, 8835 & 8837 Columbia Road,
was upset about storm water almost getting into his pool. He
asked for something to be done about the storm water problem on all of these
properties. He said Carstar is planning to expand and they will make the
problem worse. He said there was nothing on the church’s plan to manage the
storm water. They need a retention pond. Mr. Klatte said they would take the
drainage issue into consideration in the future.
Joe
Hawk, 8823 Lea Place,
said his driveway is a waterfall. He said since the senior housing development
was built he has had drainage problems. The storm water is a real problem.
Steve Freeze, 8820 Lea Place,
said he backs up to Columbia
Road. He appreciated that the CVS lighting is non-intrusive and he thanked the
township for that. He sometimes has a stream in his yard when it rains. He was
concerned about the storm water situation.
Bryan Edens, 8827 Lea Place,
had reviewed the staff report.
He had some photos and he pointed out some other conditional uses in the
surrounding area. He used as examples Lakeview Church and Beth Messiah and
their larger buffers, privacy fencing, and setbacks. They have adequate
drainage. Mike Kean asked him how much of his yard included the trees in the
photo.
George Williams, 8815 Lea Place,
was concerned about drainage,
noise, and intrusive lighting.
Ruth
Eldridge, 8821 Columbia Road,
owned the property next door to
the church and was at the meeting to oppose the church going in. She asked that
the area stay residential and not be changed by having a church or businesses.
The board asked her about her drainage and she said the property is wet and the
driveway gets water across it.
Len
Eldridge, 8821 Columbia Road,
said he would be looking directly at the church. He said the other churches
built recently have had larger lots.
Board
Comments
Mr. Klatte closed the public
portion of the meeting and asked for board discussion. Mr. Klatte asked if the
number of parking spaces comply with the code requirement. Ms. Wadih said after
the fire department reviews the plan they could make changes. Bill Heckman
asked if the office square footage would affect the parking. Ms. Wadih said she
used just the church when she did the staff report. Brian Leary said they could
build a house there today and take all of the trees away. He said this is a
transitional area. The board asked for the possibility of submitting
professional plans. Ms. Wadih said that his is an expense on the applicant with
no warrantee that this project will be approved. If the board sees this a good
use for the area then applicant has to provide detailed professional plans and
be reviewed by the Zoning Commission. Mr. Heckman said the building is not in
character with residential structures. Ms. Wadih said she went to the site with
the engineer. The engineer didn’t believe the water problem would not be made
worse by putting the church there but a detention pond would help. Mr. Heckman
the detention pond may be where the parking would be and that would decrease
parking.
Brian Leary said he applauded their efforts to put a church in but
sooner or later something will go in there. That could allow that transition
from residential to commercial.
Bill Heckman said we could
approve it with so many restrictions but he is more inclined to oppose it.
Applicant could come back with another plan. Greg Porta said there would be so
many restrictions they may not want to pursue this. Dan Hendy said this board
could share some concerns with them so they would have some knowledge. Mr.
Heckman said he would feel better seeing all the materials, seeing a report from
the fire department, and seeing a report from the storm water management
people. Mr. Heckman said he would need more information for an approval.
Motion
Motion by
Bill Heckman to decline the conditional use at
8801 Columbia Road.
2nd
by Greg Porta
Roll Call: Mike Kean-Yes,
James Klatte-Yes, Greg Porta-Yes,
William Heckman-Yes, Brian Leary-Yes. The motion was approved.
Old
Business
Motion by Brian Leary to
continue the current board for the remainder of the year.
2nd by Bill Heckman
Roll Call: Mike Kean-Yes, James
Klatte-Yes, Greg Porta-Abstain, Bill Heckman-Yes,
Brian Leary-Yes. The motion
was approved..
Adjourn
Motion to adjourn by Bill
Heckman.
Second by Mike Kean.
Roll Call: Brian Leary-Yes,
James Klatte-Yes, William Heckman-Yes, Mike Kean-Yes
Greg Porta-Yes. The motion was
approved.
________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
James Klatte, Chairperson
Date William Heckman, Secretary
Date
H BZA05_10_07.MIN
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