A use variance requested by Gast Fuel and Service Inc. was tabled Monday at the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, after everyone got their say.

Currently, the service station, owned by David Kintzel, uses the former residence at 110 N. Reed St. as a storage facility.

Commercial storage is not a permitted use in a residential area.

Kintzel seeks a use variance to continue using the house as a storage facility for Center Quick Sales, Kintzel's building immediately to the south, and to legally allow parking in front of the building.

City planner Jeff Noffsinger said Warsaw building commissioner Todd Slabaugh had inspected the house, noting there are no utility services to the house.

Dick Kehoe, a retired attorney, appeared before the board representing Kintzel as an employee of Gast Fuel, not as a legal representative.

Kehoe said he expected Kintzel to attend the meeting.

Kehoe said the ultimate plan is to demolish the house and build an accessory building. A variance to demolish the building to create additional parking in back of the mini mart and install a canopy over the west side gas pumps was issued in 1998. These items were never acted upon.

Kehoe asked that the recent changes to Reed Street not be a part of the discussion. In January the city council ordered no parking on Reed Street, following a petition by the neighbors asking for the street to be southbound one-way.

At those hearings, Kintzel said his truck could not deliver fuel if Reed Street was made one-way.

The no-parking ordinance is in effect at least until sidewalks are installed this summer.

City councilman Bill Rhoades approached the board, saying the building at 110 N. Reed St. has looked terrible for years.

Rhoades advised the board the house should come down, which would make room for the delivery truck.

"That truck is a nuisance," Rhoades said. "People back out of the alleys [around the mini mart] in front of people and people are using the alley to get onto Main Street.

"Tear down the house to create more parking. There is no parking there and people are parking in the street and in the right of way."

Board president Bruce Woodward advised Rhoades that tearing down the house was not part of the variance.

"I know what the variance is and I know what the neighbors want," Rhoades said. "I am their councilman."

Melissa Ryan and Dee O'Neil both approached the board saying the "storage" house borders their back yard.

O'Neil grew up in the house and has lived there for 17 years.

She said their back yard is always full of trash blowing in from the mini mart.

"Delivery trucks use the alley and literally honk their horn for me to move my car so they can get down the alley," she said. "I have to clean up the trash year after year. Dave drives by, waving at me, like this is OK."

O'Neil said she has complained plenty of times about the trash, the kids who congregate and the semis traveling through the alley.

Stan McDaniel, another "backyard" neighbor, approached the board with a petition and additional photographs.

McDaniel said he moved into his house on Main Street 2-1/2 years ago.

"The property has never been maintained. I feel like my backyard is a landfill for that (110 N. Reed St.) house," he said. "I don't feel he [Kintzel] has been a good neighbor."

McDaniel said half the time the alleys are inaccessible because they are blocked by vendor trucks. He said his bushes have been run over several times along with the curb onto Main Street.

"The neighborhood is suspicious and wary of anything he says he is going to do," McDaniel said.

Betty Gilbert also approached the board, saying changes to the mini mart have never been granted a variance.

"Since the business became a mini mart there are increased accidents and calls to the police," she said.

"There are no variances for the kerosene tank that was installed, no variance for the business becoming a mini mart, the sign on the big black posts is out of compliance and supposed to have been removed."

Kintzel arrived about half way through the remonstrators' comments. He said he began commercial storage in the house three or four years ago.

BZA member Dan Hampton asked him if he intended to tear the house down and Kintzel said yes.

"I want to keep it as storage until we put a storage building there," he said. "We planned on doing it and didn't know when the deadline was. We're reapplying now."

Woodward noted the board would be expanding on non-conforming use if they approved the variance.

"The neighborhood is being substantially affected here," he said.

The item was tabled. Kintzel was asked to submit a detailed plan for the property next month.

The next meeting is at 6 p.m. May 13. [[In-content Ad]]