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

Minutes of the December 19, 2005 Meeting

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


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 members, reviewed the duties of the Board, the requirements needed to be meet for the granting of a variance, and the procedures to be followed at the meeting.

Hearing:

2005-19 Scott and Deborah Fraser, 220 Lake Dr. Request for relief from Ordinance #154.046(A) (1) so that a new home may be constructed with a height of 43feet 4 inches from the top surface of the basement floor to the peak of the roof. Phil Myers spoke on behalf of the applicants and made his presentation as to why the height variance is necessary. 2 residents spoke in favor of the variance. President Folland read letters from 2 neighbors expressing favor of the height variance. The public discussion on this application was closed. Several Board members had questions as to the height of the roof. On motion by J McArdle and seconded by B. Brown the hearing was closed. A vote was called for by President Folland. Variance request was approved.

2005-20 David Hoellrich, 846/845 Lake Dr. Request for relief from Ordinance #154.046(C) as amended by Ordinance #305 so that he may build a garage with a vertical height of 18 feet 11inches.The applicant made his presentation. Board member Ron Kummer recused himself from any discussion on the application. 2 residents spoke in favor of this application. The public discussion on this application was closed. The Board members had several questions. On motion by J. McArdle and seconded by B. Brown the hearing was closed. A vote was called for by President Folland. Variance request was denied.

2005-21 Jerry and Janice Crawford, 7975 N 750 E. 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 19 feet 6 inches to the peak of roof. Bill Scheumann spoke on behalf of the applicants. There was no comments from the audience. Several Board members has questions directed to the builder. On motion R. Kummer and seconded by B. Brown the hearing was closed. A vote was called for by President Folland. Variance request was approved.
 

2005-22 Shirley Lumpe, 862 Lake Dr. Request for relief from Ordinance 154.047(A) as amended by Ordinance #287 so that she may build a garage on a parcel of land which has less that the minimum required square foot area. Bill Scheumann spoke on behalf of the applicant.  There was no comment from the public. Several Board members had
questions directed to the builder. On motion by J. Fitzenrider and seconded by B. Brown the hearing was closed. A vote was called for by President Folland. Variance request was approved.

2005-23 A & B Warren and Linda Weicher, 322 A Lake Dr and Thomas and Kay Ivey, 322 Lake Dr. Request for relief from Ordinance # 154.048(A)(5) so that the remaining portion of an existing garage may be closer to the side lot line than the minimum required 5 feet. Latrielle Wheat made a presentation on behalf of applicants Ivey and Craig Benson made a presentation on behalf of applicants Weicher. The existing garage is jointly owned by the parties and sets partially on each party’s property. A portion of the garage that is situated on the Ivey property will be torn down and a new wall will be built on the remaining portion of the garage. 2 residents raised several questions. The public discussion on this application was closed. Several Board members had questions. On motion by R. Kummer seconded by B. Brown the hearing was closed. A vote was called for by President Folland. Variance request was approved.

On motion duly made and second the public hearing was closed.

Business Meeting:

President Folland opened the business meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ron Kummer, Vice President read the minutes of the September 19, 2005 meeting. On motion duly made and seconded the minutes were approved a read.

President Folland presented to the Board members a draft of “Meeting Procedure”. After a discussion among the Board member, it was moved by B. Brown and seconded by R. Kummer that the proposed draft be adopted as the official Meeting Procedure after the deletion of the word “and” in the 1st line of paragraph 6. The motion was passed.

President Folland presented to the Board members a draft of the “Application for Appeal Hearing”. After a discussion among the Board members it was suggested that on page 5 of the application the word “boundary” be inserted following the word “certified” in sub-paragraph 2 of paragraph 1 “Variance Application Requirements”. On motion by J. Fitzenrider and seconded by R. Kummer it was moved that the “Application for Appeal Hearing” as amended be adopted as the official Application for Appeal Hearing. The motion was passed.

President Folland presented to the Board member a draft of the “Board Rules”. After a discussion among the Board members it was suggested that sub-paragraph 2 of paragraph 4 be amended by inserting the word “boundary” following the word “certified”. On motion by R. Kummer and seconded by J Fitzenrider, it was moved that the “Board Rules” as amended be adopted as the official Board Rules of the Clear Lake Board of Zoning Appeals. The motion was passed

“The Meeting Procedures, “Application for Appeal Hearing,” and, “Board Rules of Clear Lake Board of Zoning Appeals” are attached to here, marked exhibits “A”, “B”, and “C” respectfully, and incorporated herein by reference.

President Folland then proposed that the BZA met 6 times a year on the 3rd Monday of February, April, June, August, October, and December. On motion duly made and seconded it was moved that the BZA met 6 times per calendar year as proposed. The motion passed.

There being no further business to come before the Board, on motion duly made and seconded the meeting was adjourned.



Respectfully submitted:



Bruce R. Snyder
Secretary
 

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                                            Board of Zoning Appeals Regular Meeting Procedure


Open Meeting – Welcome

Read the Following:

o The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is made up of 5 legal residents of the Town of Clear Lake.

o The duties of the BZA are as follows:

    Hear and determine appeals
    Hear and Determine special exceptions
    Hear contingent uses
    Hear conditional uses

o In the case of variances, the Board will take one of the following actions:

    Approve the special exception as presented
    Approve the special exception with conditions
    Disapprove the application as presented
    Table the application until further necessary information is received

o We are here to remedy unique situations and each request will be considered on an individual basis. In other words the granting, or denying, of any variance for special circumstances does not set precedent for any other request.

o Each request will be reviewed in the order that they were received at the Town Hall. Certain documents were required as outlined on the Variance Request Application Packet and the BZA’s rules.

o We will hear each request in its entirety and then close the public hearing for that request. We will discuss and vote on that request. We will announce the results of the vote and then move to the next variance request until all have been heard and voted on.

o The chair will only recognize speakers at the podium or from the dias. We will not recognize speakers from the audience.

o Among the Board we will use seniority when questioning. The BZA’s membership was appointed as follows:

        Bonnie         Jan 2004         Term Expires 12/31/06
        Chris           May 2004        Term Expires 12/31/08
        Jerry            Aug 2004        Appointed by the Plan Commission
        Jon              Aug 2004        Term Expires 12/31/09
        Ron             Sept 2004        Term Expires 12/31/07
____________________________________________________________________
Hearing Procedure

    1. Open the hearing by reading the request.
    2. Open discussion by asking petitioner their reasons for the requests and to outline the hardship(s) that makes the request for a variance necessary (Present their application).
    3. Ask audience if anyone wishes to speak in favor or remonstrate against this request. Read letters sent in to town hall.
    4. Questions from the BZA members. When all questions/discussions are completed ask for a BZA member to make a motion to close the discussion.
    5. Each BZA member casts his or her preliminary vote. Review results of the preliminary vote.
    6. Discuss with the members what conditions are necessary to find consensus if needed.
    7. Role Call Vote. Announce the decision.
    8. Repeat the same procedure until all requests have been heard.
____________________________________________________________________
Business Meeting

    Acceptance of previous meetings minutes

    Old Business

    New Business

Adjourn

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                                                    Clear Lake Board of Zoning Appeals
                                                                Order of Proceedings
                                                                    Appeal Hearing
                                                        Clear Town Hall, Clear Lake, IN


1. Remonstrator presentation.

    a. Questions to remonstrator from board members.

2. Zoning Inspectors’ response to remonstrators’ presentation

    a. Questions to the Zoning Inspector from board members.

3. Public comments.

    a. After each public participant, the board members will have an opportunity to question the participant.

4. Remonstrator rebuttal (if desired).

    a. Final questions by the board members.

5. Findings of Fact as determined by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

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                                                        Board Rules
                Town of Clear Lake Indiana – Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)


1. The board shall hear all matters as mandated by Indiana Code 36-7-4-918.1, 36-7-4-918.2 and 36-7-4-918.3.

2. The board shall operate as mandated under Indiana Code 36-7-4-918 and Clear Lake Code 154.100.

3. Deadlines:

    o Developmental Standard Variances, Use Variances, and Special Exceptions: All applications must be submitted no later than 21 days prior to a scheduled BZA meeting. All application requirements must be met by deadline.

    o Issues To Be Heard Not Requiring Public Notice: All applications and agenda requests must be submitted 7 days prior to a scheduled BZA meeting.

    o Appeals Of Zoning Inspector’s Decisions: Notice of appeal must be submitted to the Clear Lake Clerk/Treasurer no more than 90 days after the Zoning Inspector’s decision. The appeal must be made in writing. A hearing date for the appeal will be scheduled by the President of the BZA based on the board’s existing schedule.

    o Special Exceptions, Developmental Standard Variances, And Use Variances: The granting of any special exception, use variance, or developmental standard variances expires at the end of one year from the date of granting by the Board Of Zoning Appeals unless construction is commenced within the one year period.

All variances, special exceptions, developmental standard variances, and/or use variances are based upon the plans submitted at the time of the public hearing. Any changes in the plans require additional approval by the Board Of Zoning Appeals prior to the construction.


4. 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 certified boundary survey.
     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 variance hearings will be scheduled.
 

Adopted:  December 19, 2005

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Variance Request Application Form Packet (link)