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All five petitions before the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Monday were unanimously approved, including two for new businesses.
There were no remonstrators against any of the petitions.
Katherine Golden petitioned for a use variance to allow a day care in an Industrial-2 zoning district at 169 E. Bell Drive. Assistant City Planner Leah Parker said technically what Golden wants to do is not a day care, but per the city ordinance the day care was the closest thing they could find. The proposed use is a play center for children with special needs.
The primary issue was compliance with the parking requirements, which Parker said Golden had plans for and would explain. Following review of the application, the Planning Department found no objection to the request and only requires a hard-surfaced parking area “wherever she does intend to have it,” Parker stated.
Board Vice President Rick Keeven asked if there were comments received from the public about the petition. Parker said Zimmer Biomet was initially concerned about potential parking in the front at the play center, but when she told them there would be no parking in front, Zimmer Biomet was totally fine with it and loved the idea.
Golden said she received a quote from R & R Asphalt and presented the BZA with pictures of where the parking lot will be.
“The lot next to it is for sale and the owner is happy to sell me a little portion so I can basically build my parking lot,” she stated. “So we haven’t got the numbers back for that yet. I’m basically hoping that comes in under what it would cost to do a parking lot in the back because if we did have to do a parking lot in the back, a lot of those trees would have to be cut down and I would really prefer that not happen. But that’s our back-up plan.”
Board member Zach Tucker said it was certainly a good location being near a large employer. Keeven asked Golden if she was located somewhere else right now. She replied she wasn’t.
“Child care and housing are two huge issues, and, certainly, I think some thought went into this in terms of location,” Tucker said before making the motion to approve the petition with the condition the parking lot be a hard surface.
Gavin Skiles petitioned for a use variance to allow an automotive repair shop in a Commercial-2 zoning district at 644 S. Buffalo St.
Parker said just down the street at 601 S. Buffalo St., the BZA approved an auto dealership at the December 2025 BZA meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Planning Department's remaining considerations were the potential for the proposed use to generate noise levels and the possible need for the installation of an oil-water separator or other appropriate stormwater management measures to prevent environmental contamination since there are residential districts right there.
Keeven asked if there were any concerns or comments from the public. Parker said she didn’t believe so, but there were some concerns about the structure of the former car wash, but that pertained to the building department and not the planning department.
Skiles said he was looking at purchasing the building, contingent on him being able to do automotive repair there. He said the building does need some repairs, like the roofing, but the structure itself is made out of block.
He said he plans to redo the front and make it look more modern. There’s a storage area through the center of the building that could be repurposed for offices. Skiles said he has multiple automotive repair shops, including one on Commerce Drive next to Tire Barn. He plans to get rid of all of the drains at the building as he doesn’t like them and doesn’t have any drains at any of his shops.
Tucker said, “I’ll admit. It’s nice to see someone wanting to do something with this structure.”
On concerns about noise, Skiles said his shops, including one in South Bend with houses all around it, have never received any noise complaints. His normal business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The BZA approved the petition with the conditions that a new 6-foot fence be put up along the rear property line to separate it from the residential area and that the drains from the former car wash be sealed.
In other business, the BZA approved:
• Richard Iseton’s petition for a use variance to allow a contractor yard/office in a Commercial-2 zoning district at 904 S. Buffalo St. for three years, with the variance expiring July 1, 2029.
The petitioner, R & R Asphalt, is an asphalt distributer, Parker told the board. They plan on storing two dump trucks there. There is a semi-truck with equipment on it that is transported from job site to job site. There are no employees there during the day that stay there, typically, she said.
It was noted by the city’s wastewater department the business was storing unmarked barrels of chemicals outside that seemed to be stored improperly. “So approval of this variance would mean that you would have to properly store those within two days,” Parker said.
The petitioner has expressed an intent to relocate to the county. “So should the BZA approve the request, the Planning Department recommends that approval be conditioned upon a specified timeframe for relocation, after which the variance shall become void and expire,” Parker said.
Board member Duane Huffer asked city attorney Scott Reust if they could grant a variance for a time period and then it just goes away. Reust said yes.
Iseton said the business has been there for the past year. Two months ago, they signed a three-year lease.
“Our intent is - we’re working with a few realtors right now. We’re trying to find property. It’s really not big enough for what we’re going right now. We’re making it do, and then I have another location on Winona Avenue. So, that’s where our sales office is, office assistant, all that. So any foot traffic is over there. We made some modifications in order to make that compliant with everything, and then we’re just seeking like a temporary - ideally, I would like to have property purchased this year if something were to come available, and then a year or two to build,” he explained, noting that their lease for 904 S. Buffalo St. is for three years.
He said if he finds another property and is able to move before the end of the three-year lease, he’ll buy out of the lease if he needs to. “It’s just temporary until I can find property, which we’ve been searching for a few years now,” Iseton said.
Huffer asked about the debris and barrels stored outside of the building on the Buffalo Street side. Iseton said it was due to a lack of communication with his foreman, but they have been in contact with KC Recycling about the barrels and paint buckets to get it all addressed.
Iseton said they are improving the property, including repaving the lot out there.
After some further discussion about cleaning the property up and vehicle parking, Huffer’s motion to approve the petition through July 1, 2029, with no outside storage except for equipment was passed.
• All Secure Self-Storage’s petition for a use variance to allow storage units in a Commercial-2 zoning district at 200 Enterprise Drive. A half-stone facade is required as a condition of the use variance approval.
Parker said there are storage units currently on the property, but a recent change in zoning does not allow construction of the mini storage, which was why the variance was needed.
• Dan Kolanowski’s petition for a variance from development standards to allow an accessory structure to be built in front of the primary structure in a Residential-1 zoning district at 1615 Springhill Road.
Parker said due to unique site constraints on the property, strict application of the ordinance imposes an undue burden, leaving no reasonable alternative location for the proposed structure. Following review, the Planning Department found the request consistent with the variance criteria and recommended approval.
No one representing the petition was present for the meeting.
