Warsaw BZA Approves 2 Signs, Daycare
March 29, 2022 at 1:20 a.m.
Warsaw BZA Approves 2 Signs, Daycare
By David [email protected]
P, B & J Real Estate LLC petitioned for a special exception to allow a daycare center in a Residential-2 district at 328 N. Park Ave., Warsaw, according to Warsaw Assistant Planner Bekah Schrag.
The property was constructed as a single-family home and has historically been used in that capacity, she said. The parcel is surrounded by Residential-2 housing and there is a printing company within the zoning district one block away.
The daycare center will operate - at the earliest - 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The facility is planning to care for eight to 10 children for the first year, with possibly more in the future.
The parcel meets the special exception requirements for a daycare center as described in the city zoning ordinance. The parcel contains a 1,476-square-foot house on a 0.22-acre lot and has ample indoor and outdoor space for a daycare center, Schrag stated. The petitioner plans to expand the parking on site to comply with parking requirements for daycare centers by adding six to seven new parking spaces.
She said there is a great need for childcare for working families in the community and the Planning Department believes this location would provide relief for the workforce. The Board could look favorably on this request, she said.
BZA President Tom Allen said he thought the Board had seen a petition like this before, and Board member Tammy Dalton agreed that they had.
In March 2021, IMD petitioned for a use variance to allow a daycare center for its employees in a Residential-1 zoning district at 615 N. Parker St., Warsaw, but the BZA denied the request because of the rules of a R-1 zoning district.
Monday’s petition was for property in an R-2 zoning district.
Miriel McFarland, director of education and training at Instrumental Machine & Development LLC (IMD), said the March 2021 petition also was one of IMD’s, but this time around they filed for a variance for a special exception.
“This is a non-residential childcare home. It provides care for, to begin with, eight to 10 children. With the regulations that are outlined in Warsaw Municipal City Code, the square footage indoor, outdoor, fenced in and lot size - all of these abide by your standards, according to R-2. And, as stated earlier, we have contacted a couple of contractors about parking options. We’ve drawn up some very rough sketch blueprints, but by no means are those final,” McFarland said.
Allen said he assumed traffic has been looked at, and Schrag said there will be plenty of space. He said the Board was saddened they couldn’t approve the daycare center request last time.
Allen asked about more children coming later into the daycare. McFarland said at most there will be 16, but that will require licensing for Class 2 daycare. Class 1 is up to 12 children.
There were no remonstrators to the petition. Dalton made a motion to approve the request, and her motion was unanimously approved.
IMD’s purchase of the property at 328 N. Park Ave. was contingent on the BZA’s decision, Todd Speicher, of IMD, told Allen.
Sacred Heart Church, 125 N. Harrison St., Warsaw, petitioned for the first variance from development standards to allow an increase in sign height and display area with an electronic messaging center, according to Schrag. The proposed sign will be 14 feet, 7 inches tall and approximately 55 square feet in area.
The messaging center will consist of about 38 feet of the sign and will have a light sensor for dimming at night. The sign will be placed on the southern section of the parcel along Center Street, which is zoned in the Residential-3 district and will identify the Sacred Heart Church and School.
She said the parcel is unique in that it has split zoning with R-3 zoning facing Center Street, where an existing nonconforming freestanding sign exists standing 8 feet tall. The north side of the property is zoned R-1 and contains a 7-foot sign with a display area of 32 square feet, which was approved by the BZA in 2006.
The surrounding area includes signs up to 20-feet tall in Commercial and -3 districts.
Due to the unique nature of the parcel and its location to other districts, Schrag said it is the opinion of the Planning Department that the Board could view the request favorably.
Sacred Heart parishioners Brad Durcholz and Lorenzo Lopez spoke in favor of the petition and there were no remonstrators. The BZA approved the petition 4-0, with Board member Jeff Johnson absent.
Warsaw Health System LLC, doing business as Kosciusko Community Hospital, petitioned for a variance from development standards to allow an increase in sign height and display area. The parcel is at the intersection of Springhill Drive and U.S. 30, and the sign will be placed directly east from 1540 Provident Drive.
The proposed sign is 31 feet tall and has 532 square feet of display area, of which 392 square feet is an electronic messaging center. The property currently contains a billboard that would be removed.
If this request is approved, Schrag said, the petitioner will have to comply with the current sign ordinance that prohibits flashing as defined as a situation created in which artificial light is not maintained stationary or constant in intensity for intervals of at least 3 seconds at a time.
The parcel is along the U.S. 30 corridor, and larger and taller signs are typical along the corridor. The surrounding context includes the sign shared between the YMCA and Parkview, which totals 468 square feet and stands 36 feet tall. The electronic sign consistently displays 324 square feet worth of Parkview signage and 144 square feet of YMCA signage.
The Planning Department suggested that the Board could view the request favorably if the sign is reduced in size to match Parkview’s section of the Parkview and YMCA sign. This would allow for 324 square feet worth of sign display area, she said.
There were no remonstrators to the petition.
Thomas B. Trent, attorney with Rothberg Logan & Warsco LLP, Fort Wayne, on behalf of the petitioner, said that while he understood the Planning Department’s recommendation, he countered that the Parkview messaging center is actually quite a lot larger than what Lutheran Hospital was proposing with its sign. He said two competing hospitals in the same community should be offered the same opportunities. Trent also pointed out that at this particular intersection, there’s quite a bit of a downward slope of about 10 to 15 feet.
“So a big sign is really necessary in my opinion to promote public health in the community and to provide wayfinding opportunities for people passing by,” Trent said.
Scott Gray, of Graycraft Signs, later pointed out that the Parkview/YMCA sign can and sometimes does become one big sign.
BZA Vice President Rick Keeven said he didn’t have a problem with the request, as did Dalton and BZA member Dan Smith. Dalton made a motion to approve the petition at 31 feet tall and has 532 square feet of display area as requested and it was approved 4-0.
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P, B & J Real Estate LLC petitioned for a special exception to allow a daycare center in a Residential-2 district at 328 N. Park Ave., Warsaw, according to Warsaw Assistant Planner Bekah Schrag.
The property was constructed as a single-family home and has historically been used in that capacity, she said. The parcel is surrounded by Residential-2 housing and there is a printing company within the zoning district one block away.
The daycare center will operate - at the earliest - 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The facility is planning to care for eight to 10 children for the first year, with possibly more in the future.
The parcel meets the special exception requirements for a daycare center as described in the city zoning ordinance. The parcel contains a 1,476-square-foot house on a 0.22-acre lot and has ample indoor and outdoor space for a daycare center, Schrag stated. The petitioner plans to expand the parking on site to comply with parking requirements for daycare centers by adding six to seven new parking spaces.
She said there is a great need for childcare for working families in the community and the Planning Department believes this location would provide relief for the workforce. The Board could look favorably on this request, she said.
BZA President Tom Allen said he thought the Board had seen a petition like this before, and Board member Tammy Dalton agreed that they had.
In March 2021, IMD petitioned for a use variance to allow a daycare center for its employees in a Residential-1 zoning district at 615 N. Parker St., Warsaw, but the BZA denied the request because of the rules of a R-1 zoning district.
Monday’s petition was for property in an R-2 zoning district.
Miriel McFarland, director of education and training at Instrumental Machine & Development LLC (IMD), said the March 2021 petition also was one of IMD’s, but this time around they filed for a variance for a special exception.
“This is a non-residential childcare home. It provides care for, to begin with, eight to 10 children. With the regulations that are outlined in Warsaw Municipal City Code, the square footage indoor, outdoor, fenced in and lot size - all of these abide by your standards, according to R-2. And, as stated earlier, we have contacted a couple of contractors about parking options. We’ve drawn up some very rough sketch blueprints, but by no means are those final,” McFarland said.
Allen said he assumed traffic has been looked at, and Schrag said there will be plenty of space. He said the Board was saddened they couldn’t approve the daycare center request last time.
Allen asked about more children coming later into the daycare. McFarland said at most there will be 16, but that will require licensing for Class 2 daycare. Class 1 is up to 12 children.
There were no remonstrators to the petition. Dalton made a motion to approve the request, and her motion was unanimously approved.
IMD’s purchase of the property at 328 N. Park Ave. was contingent on the BZA’s decision, Todd Speicher, of IMD, told Allen.
Sacred Heart Church, 125 N. Harrison St., Warsaw, petitioned for the first variance from development standards to allow an increase in sign height and display area with an electronic messaging center, according to Schrag. The proposed sign will be 14 feet, 7 inches tall and approximately 55 square feet in area.
The messaging center will consist of about 38 feet of the sign and will have a light sensor for dimming at night. The sign will be placed on the southern section of the parcel along Center Street, which is zoned in the Residential-3 district and will identify the Sacred Heart Church and School.
She said the parcel is unique in that it has split zoning with R-3 zoning facing Center Street, where an existing nonconforming freestanding sign exists standing 8 feet tall. The north side of the property is zoned R-1 and contains a 7-foot sign with a display area of 32 square feet, which was approved by the BZA in 2006.
The surrounding area includes signs up to 20-feet tall in Commercial and -3 districts.
Due to the unique nature of the parcel and its location to other districts, Schrag said it is the opinion of the Planning Department that the Board could view the request favorably.
Sacred Heart parishioners Brad Durcholz and Lorenzo Lopez spoke in favor of the petition and there were no remonstrators. The BZA approved the petition 4-0, with Board member Jeff Johnson absent.
Warsaw Health System LLC, doing business as Kosciusko Community Hospital, petitioned for a variance from development standards to allow an increase in sign height and display area. The parcel is at the intersection of Springhill Drive and U.S. 30, and the sign will be placed directly east from 1540 Provident Drive.
The proposed sign is 31 feet tall and has 532 square feet of display area, of which 392 square feet is an electronic messaging center. The property currently contains a billboard that would be removed.
If this request is approved, Schrag said, the petitioner will have to comply with the current sign ordinance that prohibits flashing as defined as a situation created in which artificial light is not maintained stationary or constant in intensity for intervals of at least 3 seconds at a time.
The parcel is along the U.S. 30 corridor, and larger and taller signs are typical along the corridor. The surrounding context includes the sign shared between the YMCA and Parkview, which totals 468 square feet and stands 36 feet tall. The electronic sign consistently displays 324 square feet worth of Parkview signage and 144 square feet of YMCA signage.
The Planning Department suggested that the Board could view the request favorably if the sign is reduced in size to match Parkview’s section of the Parkview and YMCA sign. This would allow for 324 square feet worth of sign display area, she said.
There were no remonstrators to the petition.
Thomas B. Trent, attorney with Rothberg Logan & Warsco LLP, Fort Wayne, on behalf of the petitioner, said that while he understood the Planning Department’s recommendation, he countered that the Parkview messaging center is actually quite a lot larger than what Lutheran Hospital was proposing with its sign. He said two competing hospitals in the same community should be offered the same opportunities. Trent also pointed out that at this particular intersection, there’s quite a bit of a downward slope of about 10 to 15 feet.
“So a big sign is really necessary in my opinion to promote public health in the community and to provide wayfinding opportunities for people passing by,” Trent said.
Scott Gray, of Graycraft Signs, later pointed out that the Parkview/YMCA sign can and sometimes does become one big sign.
BZA Vice President Rick Keeven said he didn’t have a problem with the request, as did Dalton and BZA member Dan Smith. Dalton made a motion to approve the petition at 31 feet tall and has 532 square feet of display area as requested and it was approved 4-0.
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