Downtown businesses may soon find it easier to erect signs and canopies over city sidewalks if the recommendation of the Warsaw Plan Commission is adopted

The commission, citing a need to streamline the process for granting right-of-way encroachment agreements, Monday approved a recommendation to the Warsaw City Council to put encroachment standards for such structures into ordinance form, which would save a step in the approval process.

"The gist of this amendment is to speed up the process," city planner Jeff Noffsinger said. "It would make it so there would not be a requirement for Board of Zoning Appeals approval before an encroachment agreement is taken up by city's Board of Public Works and Safety.

"An encroachment agreement essentially indemnifies the city against liability if a sign or canopy would ever fall," he added.

The proposed ordinance amendment would permit encroachments over the public right of way up to 4 feet.

In other business, the commission rescinded a requirement for a frontage road in front of the new Lakeside Chevrolet on Ind. 15.

Acting on the request of Jim Malcom, of Malcom & Associates of Goshen, the commission approved allowing Lakeside to construct an access cul-de-sac on the north side of their property.

The approval was made contingent on the acceptance of the plan by street superintendent Lacy Francis.

The commission also approved a recommendation to rezone approximately 52.5 acres on the northwest corner of Ind. 15 and CR 300N from residential to industrial.

The parcel had been equally divided between industrial and residential zoning classification, and the change would be more in keeping with surrounding uses, Noffsinger said. [[In-content Ad]]