DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP
Meeting at 4900 Parkway Drive, #180
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
6:30 PM –
JANUARY 10th, 2008
MINUTES
CALL TO
ORDER James Klatte
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
James
Klatte, Brian Leary and Gregory Porta.
ABSENT:
James
Reinhart, Michael Kean
STAFF:
Lois McKnight, Hayfaa Wadih, Marilyn Arnold
Mr. Klatte explained to the representatives from the three cases
tonight that since they had some absent board members, the vote for
approval must be unanimous. He gave the representatives from the
two cases the opportunity to have their case heard next month. No
one responded.
Minutes
Since there were only
3 members present, there was no discussion or motion regarding the
minutes of 12/13/07 Mr.
Klatte asked the township attorney to present the oath to those who
plan on giving testimony.Joe Walker, township attorney, administered
the oath to those giving testimony.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Case
#2007-534 Requesting a variance to Section
22.05.E. & F for signage at 3105 W. Route
22&3, Sonic Restaurant owned by Drive-In of Evansville.
Staff Report
Hayfaa Wadih described the Sonic building and the sign proposal.
She explained the size of the building and parcel. She said the
applicant was proposing a 10 x 6.9 feet sign with an automatic
changeable copy. The proposal was to display photos of the products
sold by the restaurant. The applicant said the brightness of the
sign could be controlled and it also could be adjusted to make it
look like a standard vinyl sign.
Ms. Wadih explained Section 22.05 E & F prohibits the following
signs:
E. all blinking, flashing or
intermittent lighting;
F. automatic changeable copy signs.
She said the applicant was seeking approval for remodeling
the ground mounted sign with the belief that it would improve the
appearance of the business as the current sign has become obsolete
in comparison with the cutting edge of the very popular optic
signs. Mr. Klatte asked for questions for Ms. Wadih from the board.
Greg Porta asked Ms. Wadih if the sign they had then was a size
which was not in compliance. She said it was in compliance. Greg
Porta said he didn’t think it was in compliance. Brian Leary asked
if the new sign would be in the same location as this old one. She
said it would go over the old one. Greg Porta asked about a change
in the code in 2005. Ms. Wadih said she didn’t know about that
change. There was some discussion about Section 22.05 E and F. Mr.
Klatte asked the proponent to state his case.
Proponent
Shawn Ozment, 454 Petersburg Rd., P.O. Box 706, Hebron, KY,
said the current sign was old. He said the top and the base would
stay the same. The middle of the sign would be new. The brightness
could be changed to 100 different levels. He said they would be
willing to put public service announcements on the sign. Photos of
food items could be shown as moving video. Jim Klatte asked for
questions. Mr. Klatte asked if the signage board would remain the
same size and Mr. Ozment said it would. Brian Leary told him that
this board appreciated the support this business gives to the
township. He said some of these types of signs could be distracting
at night. Mr. Klatte asked if the sign would be on 24-7 and he was
told it would be turned off at night. Mr. Klatte closed this
portion of the meeting and asked for any concerned citizen who
wanted to speak. There were none. He asked the board for more
discussion.
There was
discussion regarding a motion and possible inclusion of a suggestion
that the sign must be in compliance with any future changes to the
Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution as a result of the
Comprehensive Plan. Joe Walker said if the code changed, he would
have a non-conforming use. Joe said the board should not add the
statement regarding Deerfield Township Zoning Resolution. Greg
Porta said if they would come back with a new code prohibiting these
signs, what we said tonight would be what they would be bound by.
Joe Walker said they should not tie these conditions to future
zoning rules.
Motion
Brian Leary moved, seconded by Gregory Porta, to
approve the variance in Case 2007- 534,
including the rule that the
static text be limited to a 10 seconds and that there be no motion
animation on the display.
The motion was approved on the
following vote:
AYES: James Klatte,
Brian Leary and Gregory Porta.
NOES: None.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Case
#2007-535 Requesting
a variance to Section 16.03 in order to allow an accessory structure
in the side yard at 3159 Route 22 & 3 at the 20 Mile Restaurant
owned by Twenty Mile Partners et Al.
Staff Report
Hayfaa Wadih described the property in the
General Business District. She said accessory structures must be
located in the rear yard and not any closer than five feet from any
rear or side property lot line. Since this was a corner lot, there
was no rear yard. A corner lot was considered having 2 front yards
in the Zoning Code. The applicant was proposing to build a barn in
the front yard along Columbia Road (since there was no rear yard on this corner lot). She said the barn
had a rural look, but recent changes made on the other side of the
building along Route 22 & 3, made this proposed barn match those
changes. If this was approved the Staff would expect the applicant
to provide the actual building full dimensions and show the
materials for approval. Jim Klatte asked the board if they had
questions for the staff.
Brian Leary said
there were some “out” structures sitting there and asked whether
this barn would hide them.
Proponent Gerry Geisem, 9642 Sycamore Trace, Blue
Ash,
said the barn would help block all of the HVAC and
units sitting outside from view. He said they would be trying to
bring the building back to what it looked like in the 1800’s. The
goal was to hide them from the view of cars driving on Columbia
Road. He said he had difficulty with two front yards. He said he
would work with zoning and was willing to do what they wanted. Jim
Klatte asked for any questions from the board. Brian Leary asked to
look at the site plan in order to understand where the barn would
go. Mr. Geisem came up and explained the proposed location and
explained that there were doors on both sides of the structure. Mr.
Klatte said the variance request was only for the setback. Mr.
Klatte asked for concerned citizens to come forward at this time.
Concerned Citizens
Roger Wade,
Columbia Road, owner of 20 Mile
Station,
wanted to know if the building would be behind the existing fence.
He was concerned about visibility for his strip center. Jim Klatte
said a section of the fence would be filled with the side of the
barn and the rest of the barn would be behind the fence. Mr. Wade
didn’t want his signs to be blocked. Jim Klatte said this board has
had many cases involving that strip center and they were familiar
with it. Jim Klatte said that they were just asking for a setback
variance. Brian Leary said he understood their concerns but this
board was not there to discuss that tonight. Jim Klatte closed the
public comment portion of the meeting and asked for board
discussion.
Motion
Brian
Leary moved, seconded by James Klatte, to approve the variance in
Case 2007-535.
The motion was denied on the
following vote:
AYES:
James Klatte and Brian Leary.
NOES: Gregory Porta.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Case
2007-572
Requesting a variance to Section 6.05 requesting approval to build a
religious
place of worship 8801 Columbia Road owned by
Konstantin Misyukovets.
Staff Report
Hayfaa Wadih described the plan for the proposed 6,500 square feet
one story church on the 1.615 acre lot. She named other churches
which were located in Residential Single Family neighborhoods along
Columbia Road such as Lakeview United Church of Christ and Beth
Messiah Synagogue. She reminded the board that this church has come
before this board before and she said the applicant was encouraged
to come back with a different plan which would be more in sync with
the residential character of the area. She said traffic and storm
water management were the major issues in this area. Jim Klatte
asked for questions for the staff. Greg Porta said this process was
different from West Chester’s. Ms. Wadih said The BZA must give
approval but the site plan review process must go to the Zoning
Commission. Greg Porta said previously this board denied this based
on the building. Jim Klatte said the architecture from before did
not fit with the residential character. Lois McKnight said a
Conditionally Permitted Use was not an allowable exemption for the
Site Plan Review process. She said this board had the ability to
add some conditions.
Proponent
Konstantin Misyukovets, 1047 Shore Point, said this
property was for sale for many months and he felt this property
would be right for his church. He said they hoped they could locate
on Columbia Road the same as Lakeview United Church of Christ and
Beth Messiah. He said at the last meeting he was instructed by this
board to come back with a better plan and that was what he said he
had done. He said this plan for the building had a more residential
look and was lower in height. Mr. Misyukovets explained that they
would make sure they were in compliance with all zoning
regulations. He said they had increased the size of the buffer
areas near the homes and had planned for an untouched wooded area in
the back of the property which would remain totally undeveloped.
Mr. Misyukovets said they would like to have a fence along the
border of the property. He said the elevation of this lot was
higher than the surrounding homes and he felt that would be
beneficial to the area known for storm water problems. He said this
church would greatly improve the condition of the land. Currently,
the lot had been used for a dumping ground for debris, and there
were many dead trees and bushes. He said some of the trees had tree
houses in them where people have trespassed and used the property.
Jim Klatte commended him for coming back with a plan which he hoped
would be more acceptable to this board. He asked the board for
questions. Greg Porta said the Hayfaa Wadih stated that there would
be a religious school there on Fridays. Greg Porta asked how often
would there be Bible study groups and do they seek a full time
school in the future? Mr. Misyukovets said no there would not be a
full time school. School would be held just a couple times a week.
Jim Klatte asked him if there would be any overnight guests? Mr.
Misyukovets said no. Jim Klatte asked for any concerned citizens
who wanted to talk to come forward. He asked them to speak no
longer than 3 minutes.
Concerned
Citizens Bryan Edens,
8927 Lea Place,
pointed out on
the map where his house was located. He said he would be speaking
the amount of time allowed for both he and his wife. He quoted the
Deerfield Township Zoning
Resolution. He said the building was still too large and he was
concerned about the storm water run–off. He said the parking lot
run-off would cause problems with the already “over burdened” storm
water management system. Mr. Edens said Lot 149 and
Lot 151
already had storm water problems and building this church would make
it worse. He said this building would take away the privacy of
their back yard. He had a photo of Beth Messiah and pointed out the
large buffer area they had. He said this lot doesn’t have that much
room for buffers.
Catherine Good, 8818 Lea Place,
said the storm water was one of their main concerns. She said she
had township officials come out to her yard to view the storm water
problems. She said the surrounding properties impacted her
property. Hayfaa Wadih said she had brought in some engineers from
Warren County to give their advice and suggestions. Ms. Wadih said the
drain at Under Water World was clogged and they told the owner he
needed to do something about that.
Steve
Friesz, 8820 Lea Place,
pointed out the
location of his house on the map. He explained the location of a
catch basin and said the pipe was too small to handle the large
amount of water. He said a detention pond or underground tank was
needed. He said there was no way an emergency vehicle could get in
there. He said the neighbors have tried twice to purchase the
property.
Tim
Minds, 8815 Lea Place,
pointed out his lot and said the backyard was always wet and he was
concerned that a new church building would make the water problem
worse. Greg Porta said he didn’t believe drainage would be worse if
Warren County applied their storm water management techniques to this
church property.
Christina
Schreiver, 8850 Pollard Place,
explained that her
property backed up to Columbia Road but they had a safe, park like
setting. She was concerned that the clearing required for the
church driveway would cause them to have more exposure to Columbia
Road.
Joseph
Bialk, 8823 Lea Place,
said his driveway was like a river when it rained. He said this
church would impact Columbia Road. He said the traffic backed up
even on Sundays. There have been many accidents from people trying
to pull out on to Columbia Road. He was concerned about where would
the animals go when the lot was developed.
Len
Eldridge, 8821 Columbia Road,
said he would be
viewing this church from his property. He said in the application
they stated that they planned to work with teens with drug
problems. He said he didn’t like a drug rehab facility being near
his home. He was concerned with what would be going on there 24-7.
Erika
Williams, 8824 Lea Place,
was concerned about
light from the parking lot and noise pollution from the heating /
air condition unit. She said the plan did not show any type of
fence. She said the parking space number had decreased. She was
concerned about the possibility of people parking on her street and
cutting through her yard.
Frank
Krailler, 8837 / 8835 Columbia Road, owner of Underwater World,
pointed out his lot and explained
the route of storm water flow to Landen
Lake. He
talked about how debris got into his system, the pipe became
clogged, and water backed up. He also talked about light pollution
and said he believed those nearby residents would be dealing with
that. He talked about traffic and 200 cars which go into Carstar
each month and he said 150 of them turned around in his parking
lot. He made a negative statement about the board and Jim Klatte
said this board didn’t have to be berated by him. Greg Porta asked
him how often he had his drain cleaned because on the photo it
showed water standing over his drain. He said he tried to have it
cleaned every month. He said they have cleaned out plastic and
fiber glass from his drain which he said came from Carstar.
Steve
Friesz, 8820 Lea Place,
came back again and
asked about signs and whether the church sign would be illuminated.
He said the light pollution from CVS was bad when he used his 3
season room, especially in the winter when the trees were gone. Jim
Klatte closed the public portion of the meeting.
Discussion
Brian Leary said his
house backed up to Nantucket Apartments so he could relate to their
problems. Jim Klatte said his house was in the neighborhood where
there was a 100 year flood a few years ago and people’s basements
were flooded. Brian Leary said the lot was too small to allow for
enough buffering next to the Residential Single Family area. He
said if a retention pond or underground tank was there it would take
up even more space on the lot. Greg Porta said the size of this
building was somewhat better than before. He was concerned about
the fire safety because of the depth of the building. He said they
need access all the way around the building. Jim Klatte allowed the
proponent to come back up.
Konstantin
Misyukovets, 1047 Shore Point,
said they would be willing to do whatever was required for storm
water management and fire safety. He said if he was required to put
in mounding around the perimeter, he would. Greg Porta asked if he
presented the possibility of selling the property to his church
board. Mr. Misyukovets said that he forgot about that and then he
went on to explain how costly the purchase of more land would be.
He asked if this case could be tabled until the next meeting.
Lois McKnight said since in the previous case they were given a
last minute opportunity to table the case, the board must offer that
opportunity in this case. Joe Walker said it was unfortunate that
this was offered in the other case. Jim Klatte said we also said
this at the beginning of the case. There was more discussion from
each board member on various aspects of the proposal and whether to
table this case or not.
Joe Walker said he looked at the code and did not see any reason why
this board could not table this to the next regularly scheduled
meeting. He said it could be tabled for another month. Joe said
considering the fact we were dealing with a place of worship we
should rule on the side of caution. Brian Leary said we would have
to vote to table this.
Jim Klatte said during the next month the proponent could work with
staff to find some solutions to this board’s concerns. Brian Leary
said they were attempting to build a church on a narrow lot. Joe
Walker said since we did offer in a previous case this opportunity,
and since we are dealing with a church we should table this case to
next month.
Motion
James
Klatte moved, seconded by Gregory Porta, to table Case 2007-572
to the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Jim Klatte asked Lois who reported this situation to the zoning
department. Lois said a neighbor reported it. Brian Leary said
this board was very specific about letting them know what they
could and could not do. Jim Klatte said he believed it
was a good thing to do that to the garage door, but they should have
come back before us. Greg Porta asked if that would be a variance
to the Conditional Use. Greg Porta asked if they were required to
get a zoning permit for what was done. Lois said they didn’t get a
permit for everything which was done.
Hayfaa Wadih said in fairness with what they said, they had no
intention of making that change but when they did what was required
by the ADA, it did not look right to have the landscaping in front
of the garage door. That was when they decided to remove the garage
door and replace it with a wall and new window. The consensus of
the board was that they should come back for another meeting.
Adjourn
Gregory
Porta moved, seconded by James Klatte, to adjourn the meeting.
The motion was approved on the
following vote:
AYES: James Klatte,
Brian Leary and Gregory Porta.
NOES: None.
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
James
Klatte, President
BZA01_10_08.MIN
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