Issues with notifications sent out by mail reduced the number of items on the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeal’s agenda Monday from six to four.
City attorney Scott Reust reminded the board, “Our rules require, for us to hear anything on the agenda, that there’s certain notifications that have to take place for certain adjacent neighbors.”
Unfortunately, for two cases on Monday’s agenda - one from petitioner Joe Nawrocki to allow a memory care facility at 2695 Shelden St. and the other from Nicholas Feldman to allow a decorative fence in the front yard at 414 N. Columbia St. - “they were unable to make the notifications that were required for us to hear them tonight,” Reust said.
While that sometimes happens, he said more recently for Assistant City Planner Jackson Longenbaugh and the city planning department it’s been more difficult to get people notified of hearings.
“So, traditionally, one of the common things that people have done is send certified mail with a return/receive requested and that suffices for us,” Reust stated. “For whatever reason, here more recently, that’s become a bigger problem in getting people notified that way. I say that because it’s been used for years as a common way to meet the notification requirements. For whatever reason - and I don’t know why - it’s just not working as well as it once did in that tonight we have two of the six (cases). I feel like they were timely in making their effort in getting people notified, but somewhere in the system there was some failure in preventing that notice from getting delivered.”
Board member Duane Huffer asked if the failure was on the part of the Post Office. Reust said he believed it was by the Post Office.
“We’ve dealt with this more recently with a number of different agenda items. It’s becoming a more common problem,” Reust continued. “Now it doesn’t happen often, but it’s happening more than it has before, at least it feels like that to me.”
He said they’re trying to figure out a solution for the notification problem, but they don’t have one currently because the rules require the notification.
Huffer asked if they’ve given any thought to having people post signs on their property when they have a hearing before the plan commission or zoning board. He’s seen it in other communities.
Reust said the plan commission doesn’t make the rules as to how the city’s ordinances are, that’s the city council. Current ordinances and rules don’t account for signs to be notification to adjacent neighbors, though that’s an idea. He said it may require discussion with the city council on whether there’s a different avenue for notifications.
City Planner Justin Taylor later said he and Reust could look at it over the next month, but, “I believe the requirement to send the mailings is in the rules and procedures, which this board can amend. But we’ll take a look at it. I don’t think it takes an act of council, I think we can review that. The state (has) requirements for the publication, but I think the mailing requirement is in rules and procedures of this board. Again, we’ll verify that and bring you a proposal next month once we get our heads wrapped around that.”
Reust said the sign idea makes a lot of sense.
Board President Tammy Dalton replied, “But to play devil’s advocate, like someone said, we have so many lake properties around here that ... these owners do not reside here, this lake property. So it’s posted there in that neighborhood, but the owner doesn’t reside there so we run into issues that way.”
Huffer said someone else like a neighbor might tell the owners, but Dalton said that’s not the neighbor’s responsibility.
Huffer said a sign could tell the public as a whole, not just adjoining property owners. “Maybe the public doesn’t think it’s a good idea,” he said.
Reust said he knows the mayor, Longenbaugh and Taylor want there to be an open exchange of ideas. For people who don’t live in the community during part of the year, there’s the option for them to send letters for or against a petition.
He concluded by stating the notification issue has happened before, but he’s speaking up now because it seems to be happening more and it may be something that needs further discussion.