Town Of Clear Lake Indiana
Board Of Zoning Appeals - Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the September 19, 2005 Meeting

Present:     Christopher Folland, President
                    Bonnie Brown
                    Jerry McArdle
                    Ron Kummer
                    Jon Fitzenrider

Also present were 20 residents of Clear Lake and one other guest.

The meeting of the Clear Lake BZA was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Christopher Folland, President. The President introduced the Board member, reviewed the duties of the Board, the requirements needed to be met for the granting of a variance, and the procedures to be followed at the meeting.

Hearing:

2005-16 David Hoellrich, 846 Lake Dr. (a) Request for relief from Ordinance #154.047 (A) as amended by Ordinance #287 so that a garage may be built on his back lot which has less than the minimum width and less than the minimum square foot area. His lot is 44.9 feet which is the width of the neighbors on either side of his lot and on which garages have been built. (b) Request for relief from Ordinance # 154.046 (C) as amended by Ordinance # 305 so that he may build the garage with a vertical height of 23.5 feet to the peak. Applicant stated that he wanted to have a storage area above his garage so that he may store outdoor furniture and other lake toys. His garage would look similar to neighbor’s garages except it would be bigger. The garage would be dug in to ground at the back of the lot approximately 4 feet. Karen Hughes, 824 & 853 Lake Dr. stated she had no objection to the granting of the lot size variance and had no comment on the height variance request. Wm. Scheumann, 830 Lake Dr. spoken in favor of granting both requests. The public input on these requests were closed. Several Board members had questions regarding driveway surface and drainage. President Folland read letters to the Board from several neighbors stating that they had no objection to the height variance. One letter was read to the Board from a neighbor stating that they objected to the height variance request. Ron Kummer excused himself from this matter. President Folland then asked for a preliminary vote on request (a) and then asked for the members to mark the finding of fact on request (a). The variance application for request (a) was approved. President Folland then ask for a preliminary vote on variance request (b) and then asked for the members to mark the findings of fact on request (b) The variance application for request (b) was denied.
2005-17 Robert and Charmaine Ekroth, 174 Lake Dr. Request for relief from Ordinance # 154.048 (A) (5) so that they may build a deck 2.94 feet from the east property line. The applicant made his presentation. There were no comments from the audience. The public input on this request was closed. The Board members asked several questions. President Folland then asked for a preliminary vote on the request and then asked the members to mark the findings of fact. The variance request was denied.
2005-18 Shawn and Linda McArdle, 250 Lake Dr. for property located on County Road 700N but in the corporate limits of the Town of Clear Lake. Request for relief from Ordinance #154.046(C) as amended by Ordinance #305 so that they may build a garage with a vertical height of 20.5 feet to the roof peak. The applicant made an extensive presentation including both verbal and pictorial. Emma Brown asked about drainage and Wm. Scheumann spoke in favor of the variance. The public input on this request was closed. The Board members had several questions. President Folland then asked for a preliminary vote on the request and then asked the members to mark the findings of fact. The variance request was approved.

Gerald Miller, 988 Lake Dr. appealed the denial by the Zoning Inspector for the issuance of an ILP to build a garage on a platted back lot because the proposed garage was closer than 20% of the lot depth to the back property line. Terry Cornelius made the presentation for Mr. Miller. The issues discussed was the interpretation of section 154.047(A) (7) (a); 154.047(A) (8); and, 154.03, definition of a lot. There was an extensive presentation by Mr. Cornelius, input from the audience and discussion among the Board member. President Folland called for a vote on the issue. It was voted 4-1 to over turn the decision of the Zoning Inspector.

It was moved by Jerry McArdle and seconded by Jon Fitzenrider that the public hearing by closed. The motion was passed.

Business Meeting:

President Folland opened the business meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ron Kummer, Vice President read the minutes August 29, 2005 special meeting. On motion duly made and seconded, the minutes were approved as read.

It was announced that the Hoagland appeal of the issuance of the ILP to the Nevins by the Zoning Inspector will be heard on October 24, 2005.

Proposed rules governing the appeal of the issuance of an ILP by the Zoning Inspector was presented to the Board. After a careful review of the proposed rules, it was suggested that paragraph 3 of the rules for appealing the decision of the Zoning Inspector be changed from 60 days to 90 days. On motion by R Kummer and seconded by J. Fitzenrider, it was moved that the proposed rule as amended by adopted. Motion passed.

It was then discussed that the notice requirement for the application for a variance be changed to include the 5 property owners on either side of the applicants property be notified. On motion by B. Brown seconded by J. McArdle, it was moved that the notice requested by amended. The motion was passed.

Phil Meyer, agent for Scott and Deb Fraser, 220 Lake Dr. requested that the Board hold a special meeting to consider a variance application filed by the Fraser’s. President Folland stated that the request would be taken under advisement.

There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion by R. Kummer and seconded by J. McArdle, the meeting was adjourned.


Respectfully submitted:



Bruce R. Snyder, Secretary

**********

                                                        Board Rules
        Town of Clear Lake Indiana – Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)
                                        Adopted September 19, 2005


1. Deadline for Variance Applications: 21 days prior to scheduled BZA meeting. All application requirements must be met by deadline.

2. Deadline for issues to be heard not requiring public notice: 7 days prior to scheduled BZA meeting.

3. Deadline for appeals of Zoning Inspector’s decision: No more than 90 days after decision was made. Appeal must be made in writing.

4. Variance issuance: Construction on an approved variance must be commenced within one year from approval or it becomes invalid. Approved variances require construction in accordance with submitted plans and any additional requirements placed upon the variance. Any changes made to the approved building project require the BZA’s re-approval prior to construction.

5. Variance Application Requirements:

     Drawings to scale of proposed project including all elevations and exterior materials list.
     Site plan to scale showing property lines, existing improvements and proposed improvements. A current copy of site survey if available.
     A copy of property’s deed (deeds).
     If requesting a new sanitary waste connection, a letter of acceptance from the Clear Lake Town Council to connect to the Clear Lake sewer system.
     On your proposed building site, stakes showing your building locations and your property lines.

Application requirements must be completed before your variance hearing will be scheduled.