Zoning Board Of Appeals Approves Three Petitions
March 28, 2017 at 4:56 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Lake City Properties LLC was seeking a use variance for the property at 3755 Lake City Highway.
Assistant Planner Justin Taylor told the board the proposed multi-tenant property would provide office space for uses including, but not limited to, physicians, surgeons, dentists, optometrists, attorneys and accountants. The property has historically been used in a similar capacity, and the petitioner indicated the expected volume of traffic for the new facility will most likely be less than it was for the previous facility because of the prospective tenants that they had, he said.
The adjacent properties in the area have similar uses to what Lake City Properties was requesting, he said, so the use variance would not negatively impact the operations of the surrounding businesses.
Board President Tom Allen asked Taylor how many offices were anticipated. Taylor replied, “I think they’re proposing ... maybe even doing it in phases so they could expand the building.”
Kevin Runkle, representing Lake City Properties, told the board, “The facility as presently proposed is a speculative building. There are two or three tenants they are negotiating with right now. They don’t want to name them. So the building is potentially 10,000 to 32,000 square feet.”
Allen asked Runkle if the building was going to be done in phases, and Runkle said “potentially,” with “32,000 square feet on the board right now, which could be added on to, to a total of 60,000 square feet.”
He said Lake City Properties has owned the property for quite a while.
Steven Lavergne, who owns property nearby, said he had a concern about water run-off and drainage.
“I just want to make sure that the city understands that there is a existing concern for drainage in that area,” Lavergne said. He said he’s been at his property for five years, and in the last two to three years he’s seen an increase in water in his back yard.
City attorney Mike Valentine said it wasn’t necessarily an appropriate consideration for the board at this point as the board is just considering a non-industrial use in an industrial zoning.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said, “In general, the city has in place ordinances that regulate the flow of stormwater, and any development that they do will go through those regulations to make sure that the water they have on-site is contained and maintained and based on those regulations.”
He said City Engineer James Emans has talked to Lavergne a couple of times now, and the city is working with Witmer Construction and the property owner to make sure Lavergne’s concerns are addressed.
The zoning board unanimously approved a motion for the use variance.
The board then approved:
• Shana Thomas’ petition for a variance from development standards to allow for a 10-foot variance from the 20-foot front porch setback at 707 W. Center St. There were no remonstrators against the petition.
The roof overhang over the porch will be 7 feet by 14 feet.
• Keith Barker’s petition for a 6-foot variance from a 20-foot rear yard setback to construct an attached garage on the west side of the existing residence at 575 Webber St.
Barker told the board he wanted to build the garage to get out of the weather when he was working on his vehicles. He said even with the garage, there will still be cars stored outside.
Board Vice President Rick Keeven asked if this was a business or just a hobby. Taylor said it was just for a hobby, and Barker agreed it was a personal garage.
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Lake City Properties LLC was seeking a use variance for the property at 3755 Lake City Highway.
Assistant Planner Justin Taylor told the board the proposed multi-tenant property would provide office space for uses including, but not limited to, physicians, surgeons, dentists, optometrists, attorneys and accountants. The property has historically been used in a similar capacity, and the petitioner indicated the expected volume of traffic for the new facility will most likely be less than it was for the previous facility because of the prospective tenants that they had, he said.
The adjacent properties in the area have similar uses to what Lake City Properties was requesting, he said, so the use variance would not negatively impact the operations of the surrounding businesses.
Board President Tom Allen asked Taylor how many offices were anticipated. Taylor replied, “I think they’re proposing ... maybe even doing it in phases so they could expand the building.”
Kevin Runkle, representing Lake City Properties, told the board, “The facility as presently proposed is a speculative building. There are two or three tenants they are negotiating with right now. They don’t want to name them. So the building is potentially 10,000 to 32,000 square feet.”
Allen asked Runkle if the building was going to be done in phases, and Runkle said “potentially,” with “32,000 square feet on the board right now, which could be added on to, to a total of 60,000 square feet.”
He said Lake City Properties has owned the property for quite a while.
Steven Lavergne, who owns property nearby, said he had a concern about water run-off and drainage.
“I just want to make sure that the city understands that there is a existing concern for drainage in that area,” Lavergne said. He said he’s been at his property for five years, and in the last two to three years he’s seen an increase in water in his back yard.
City attorney Mike Valentine said it wasn’t necessarily an appropriate consideration for the board at this point as the board is just considering a non-industrial use in an industrial zoning.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said, “In general, the city has in place ordinances that regulate the flow of stormwater, and any development that they do will go through those regulations to make sure that the water they have on-site is contained and maintained and based on those regulations.”
He said City Engineer James Emans has talked to Lavergne a couple of times now, and the city is working with Witmer Construction and the property owner to make sure Lavergne’s concerns are addressed.
The zoning board unanimously approved a motion for the use variance.
The board then approved:
• Shana Thomas’ petition for a variance from development standards to allow for a 10-foot variance from the 20-foot front porch setback at 707 W. Center St. There were no remonstrators against the petition.
The roof overhang over the porch will be 7 feet by 14 feet.
• Keith Barker’s petition for a 6-foot variance from a 20-foot rear yard setback to construct an attached garage on the west side of the existing residence at 575 Webber St.
Barker told the board he wanted to build the garage to get out of the weather when he was working on his vehicles. He said even with the garage, there will still be cars stored outside.
Board Vice President Rick Keeven asked if this was a business or just a hobby. Taylor said it was just for a hobby, and Barker agreed it was a personal garage.
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