BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MEETING
JULY 20, 2010
7:00 P.M.
I CALL MEETING TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
II ROLL CALL
Members Present: Jim Squires, Lawrence Hawkins III, Robert Weidlich,
Robert Emerson, William Reichert, Jane Huber, Chairman Dave Okum
Others Present: Randy Campion, Building Inspection Supervisor
III PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IV MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF 15 JUNE, 2010
Mr. Squires moved for acceptance the June 15, 2010 Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting
minutes, Mr. Hawkins seconded the motion and with a unanimous aye vote the
minutes were adopted.
V CORRESPONDENCE
No items of correspondence.
VI REPORT ON COUNCIL
Mr. Hawkins gave a summary report of the July 14, 2010 City Council meeting.
VII REPORT ON PLANNING COMMISSION
Chairman Okum gave a summary report of the July 20, 2010 Planning
Commission meeting.
VIII CHAIRMANS STATEMENT AND SWEARING IN OF APPLICANTS
IX OLD BUSINESS
A. Chairman Okum: The first item on the agenda, the owner of 221 Diston Lane requests a
variance for an additional accessory structure put into place on the property. Section
153.492(B)(1) An accessory building or structure
there shall be no more than
one detached accessory building, other than a garage, on a lot in a Residential Zoning
District.
Ms. Jane Stewart: I put up a pergola and I did not get a building permit. I asked my
contractor if I needed one and he said no, because it was not attached to the
building. Then, I replaced and old storage building with a new and bigger storage
building; so obviously I have two structures and I didnt realize that was against
the Code. I am requesting that I can keep my pergola and my new and improved storage
building.
(At this time Mr. Campion read the Staff comments.)
Chairman Okum: For purposes of the record we will open this up to communication from the
audience.
(No one came forward and this portion of the hearing was closed.)
Mr. Squires: Has Staff done anything about the language since the last meeting because
this was tabled since this lady wasnt here; it is not an enclosed structure?
Mr. Campion: Staff wouldnt do anything about the language; it would be the City
Planner.
Mr. Okum: There is some cleaning up of the Code that is going on concerning different
things.
Mr. Squires: It is on Councils agenda for tomorrows meeting.
Mr. Hawkins: Is there any idea when the Planning Commission might make a recommendation to
Council regarding this specific language of a pergola structure?
Chairman Okum: We havent seen anything from the Planner and according to this it
says that Staff had referred it to The City Planner. It is a language issue and they
always have to weigh how that impacts other things; they want to make sure that the
language is strong. If we would pass a variance to allow, I think the variance should be
specific to this pergola as a second accessory structure on the property so if there is
some change in legislation we are not issuing a variance to allow two storage sheds on
this site but we are allowing a pergola based upon what has been submitted as an exhibit.
Mr. Hawkins: I agree but my main concern would be if it is not clear that the variance
would carry and you could have multiple structures on there. I would almost like to see it
tabled for some time to allow us to clear up the legislative language so that there is no
issue with regard to a variance being granted. The other problem is that we dont
know exactly when that would be handled.
Chairman Okum: I dont have a problem either way.
Mr. Squires: Would it be appropriate to bring this up as a motion to allow the pergola to
remain?
Chairman Okum: If you are going to make a motion to table it is not debatable. If you were
specific in your wording to address specifically the 9-6 X 16-6
wood pergola as exhibit A of this document and reference that into the variance, then that
is what it is limited to.
Mr. Squires: I would like to make a motion that the Board of Zoning Appeals approve the
request for the property owner at 221 Diston Lane to allow the existing 9-6 X
16-6 wood pergola to remain on the property as exhibited in the statement for
the variance request, in addition to the 8 X 12 enclosed storage building.
Seconded by Mr. Reichert.
Mrs. Huber polled the Board of Zoning Appeals Members and with a unanimous aye
vote the request for a variance at 221 Diston Lane was granted.
Chairman Okum: Your variance is granted, you will also need building permits for what you
have already constructed.
X NEW BUSINESS
A. Chairman Okum: The next item on the agenda under New Business, the
owner of 55 Progress Place requests a variance for installation of a pole sign. Said
variance is from Section 153.532(A)(2) Signs in Industrial Districts shall be designed,
erected, altered, moved, and maintained, in whole or in part, in the form of one of the
following structures (a) Wall signs (b) Ground signs; and Section 153.532(A)(3)(a) One
permanent identification sign is permitted for each general industrial unit.
Ms. Andrea Ward: I am with Holthaus Signs, 817 Ridgeway Avenue, 45229. I am representing
Group Health to begin identifying the signage needs at the location. They are looking to
update their logo to basically state that they are affiliated with Tri-Health. They then
decided that they would like to increase the highway exposure along I-275 and felt that
their current sign did not capitalize on that exposure. With the current code, if my
understanding is correct, they do only permit one sign at the property which is the sign
that they have currently and they do not feel that it meets the needs; they do feel it is
visible along Princeton but it doesnt allow anyone to see the sign or see the
building as you are exiting or traveling along I-275. We chose the height of the sign
based upon a few different things; the tallest tree from what we can calculate is around
60, placing the sign where we hope to have it placed would be at 69 to be
visible above the trees, yet the sign would be 14 X 21 to allow it to be seen
at night or during the day. We looked at adding wall signs and the wall sign was not
visible and would put them in the same position that they are in now. We also looked at
increasing the size of the sign by Princeton.
Chairman Okum: Based upon your testimony that you have given us, exhibit dated 5/28/2010
which is for a 69 pole sign and a diagram of your parking area; and I see the
location is written in at the bottom; we will move to Staffs report from
Mr. Campion.
(At this time Mr. Campion read the Staff comments.)
Ms. Ward: As I mentioned we explored the option of keeping the sign by Princeton, it still
doesnt maximize what Group Health is trying to gain through the highway visibility.
The traffic to the number of travelers that travel through the area came out to be
approximately 39,000 a day. They looked at putting signs on the building and they feel
that they have been in the building since 1990 and their lease is coming up in the next
four years and they wanted to take this time to do what they could to maximize it. They
have patrons that are apparently having a difficult time finding it or they are going up
to the next exit to turn around and they felt that this would be the best time to look at
this request.
(Chairman Okum opened the floor to communications from the public; no one came forward and
the meeting continued.)
Mrs. Huber: I move to grant a variance from Section 153.532(A)(2), so as to allow the
installation of a pole sign at 55 Progress Place and to allow a ground sign to remain as
Section 153.532(A)(3)(a) at this same location; the applicant is Group Health Associates.
Chairman Okum: Do you want to amend your motion to include that the pole sign is requested
at 69.
Mrs. Huber: Yes, to include that the pole sign is to be 69 and 340 s.f., as
requested.
Mr. Emerson seconded the motion.
Chairman Okum: If I had a business on a business corner, I would say that my business is
at the corner of Progress Place and Princeton Pike for the directions to help people get
to my business. At this point I dont understand why we need that sign there for
direction when there are other methods of getting the information to them. On a marketing
perspective, I understand that it is nice to get your name out there where people will see
it and know that you are there.
Mrs. Huber: If you are unfamiliar with Springdale, Progress Place would be questioned;
people may not be familiar where Progress Place is.
Mr. Hawkins: I know you discussed that there was some exploration of a wall mounted sign
on the building; what would that elevation have been?
Ms. Ward: We didnt feel it was beneficial on Progress Place because you really
cant see it; we looked at adding it to the side of the property on the side of I-275
and we had about a 27 wall area. You just couldnt see it, it was blocked by
the vegetation and it really didnt give them what they were looking for.
Mr. Hawkins: So the elevation would be around 27, do you estimate?
Ms. Ward: Yes, and it made the letters a little too small to be visible from that
distance.
Mr. Hawkins: The Planning Commission has been diligent in trying to limit the amount of
pole signs that they have through that area and I know there are different issues at
different businesses, in terms of visibility.
Mr. Emerson: They dont have an emergency room or anything there; is that strictly
doctor offices?
Ms. Ward: I dont believe they have emergency service and hopefully I am not speaking
out of text for that. They will get someone that may come in with an emergency, not
knowing any better and I am sure that they would treat them but I dont know that
they do any emergency services.
Mr. Emerson: I made a comment to a friend about Group Health Associates and he said that
he had heard of them but didnt know where they were at.
Chairman Okum: Have you explored bringing the ground sign closer to Princeton Pike?
Ms. Ward: Yes, they did and basically the highway visibility is what they really wanted to
gain. They felt that whatever they did along Princeton was not going to be visible to the
travelers along I-275.
Chairman Okum: Lets go back to what I was asking about the Princeton Pike sign; I
would be more prone to understanding the identity factor along a roadway than expressway
billboards. How far is that sign currently from the public right of way?
Ms. Ward: I do not know the answer to that question. I know from speaking to Bill, that we
could move it 5 closer.
Chairman Okum: I would be more prone to give a set-back variance along Princeton Pike to
give the exposure there, than I would be for a pole sign along I-275 for general marketing
purposes; that is not your request and at this time I will not be supporting the pole
sign.
Mr. Weidlich: I drove around the area back there looking at the sign and the location
where you would like to erect this new sign and there is no other business back there that
has pole signs that I could find. We would be setting a precedent that we allow 69,
and then maybe the next business wants 75 so they can be viewed. I agree with the
Chairman that there are other methods to direct people to the business. At this point I
will not be supporting this either.
Mrs. Huber: I have a suggestion, I dont like pole signs either but if this existing
ground sign were moved closer to 747 and perhaps did a variance to increase the height a
bit, would that help?
Ms. Ward: Definitely, yes I think it would.
Mrs. Huber: You are limited to a 7 height, but if it were perhaps 12 in height
that would give more visibility.
Mr. Squires: In a follow-up to what Mrs. Huber said, the existing ground sign has an area
of 46 s.f.?
Ms. Ward: Exactly.
Chairman Okum: What is the permissible sign space for that property?
Mr. Emerson: 125 s.f.; so you do have space.
Ms. Ward: We have 125 s.f. with a 7 height.
Mr. Squires: You could also come 5 closer to the public right of way.
Chairman Okum: I dont see a favorable vote, but I think that we should go ahead and
vote and have a motion on the floor so that you can take that back to Group Health
Associates and Tri-Health and say that this is based upon the meeting.
Mr. Reichert: I also do not like pole signs. I would encourage the alternative being a
larger sign and relocate it and come back; I would very well support the idea of giving
you a variance if necessary, but we are not totally anti-sign we just dont like it
that tall.
Mrs. Huber polled the Board of Zoning Appeal Members and with a unanimous no
vote the request for a variance at 55 Progress Place was denied.
B. Chairman Okum: The next item on the agenda for New Business, the owner of 85 West
Kemper Road requests a variance to erect a tent for 20 days. Said variance is from Section
153.490 (E)(3)(b) Tent sales may be permitted for promotion of special activities in the
Office Building, General Business, Motorist Service, and Support Service
Districts
The duration of such sales shall be limited in duration, which in no event
shall exceed two consecutive weeks.
The period for the tent is 7/12/2010 through 7/25/2010; so if we
continue this it is already over. By getting on the agenda they ended up without a
violation.
(No representative for 85 West Kemper was present at this meeting.)
Mr. Hawkins: I understand the frustration with regard to the applicant not being present;
the thing that I would have suggested was to table it for the month so that they could get
in their last couple of days without us putting a variance on to attach to the property to
essentially change the legislation that Planning Commission has worked hard to put
together and that Council has approved. The matter of it being tabled, I dont have a
problem with; but that would have been the solution that I would have looked at anyway if
they would have been here.
Mr. Campion: If you table this, how long would it be before Staff notifies them that it
has been tabled?
Chairman Okum: I dont know.
Mrs. Huber: I feel badly; the car dealerships have suffered with this economy.
Chairman Okum: I think that we are all sensitive to that. I agree with Mr. Hawkins and
should a motion come to the floor to table I would probably support it but remember that
if you are going to make a comment, once a motion is on the floor there is no discussion.
Mr. Reichert: I would like to make a motion that we table this until next month.
Mr. Squires seconded the motion and with a unanimous aye vote from the Board
of Zoning Appeals Members the request for variance at 85 West Kemper was tabled.
XI DISCUSSION
Mr. Weidlich: Evidently, there wasnt any problem with the continuance for the access
to the back yard for the trailer with the Law Director?
Mr. Campion: I did not hear any comment from anyone other than Mr. McErlane.
Chairman Okum: It will be interesting to see if there is anything brought forward to
change that.
I also want to mention that the satellite tower request through Planning Commission was
officially withdrawn.
XII ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Okum: I will accept a motion for adjournment.
Mr. Squires: I move to adjourn.
Seconded by Mr. Reichert.
All members of the Board of Zoning Appeals signified by saying aye and the
meeting adjourned at 7:59 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________,2010 ___________________________________
Chairman Dave Okum
________________________,2010 ___________________________________
Secretary Jane Huber