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Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals approved Monday a variance from development standards to allow a sign to exceed 8 feet in height along old U.S. 30.
The first petition was from Curtis Stavedahl to allow a maximum of a 12-foot-tall sign in front of 1621 W. Lake St., within a Commercial-II zoning district, along the south side of Old U.S. 30
Freestanding signs are limited to 8 feet in height in C-2 zoning districts per section 13.4.3.3 of the city’s municipal code, said City Planner Justin Taylor.
A review of this area conducted by the planning department showed four other signs within 1,000 feet of Stavedahl’s property that had freestanding signs that did not conform to the 8-feet height limit. Because of the surrounding context, Stavedahl’s request would not create a deviation in the aesthetic character of the coordinator, Taylor said.
Taylor said the size of the sign doesn’t deviate from what is permitted in the ordinance, just the height.
Stavedahl said he and wife Andrea were petitioning to have a size that was a minimum of 9 feet and a maximum of 12 feet tall. It would allow people to locate the business of the property easier.
A sign of a height of 8 feet was not realistic and will not benefit the property and businesses at that address, he said. He talked about four pictures he had sent to the BZA. One of them showed how much of the sign would be blocked by parked vehicles in the area if it was 8 feet tall. Other pictures showed Old U.S. 30, just east of Boggs Automotive. Stavedahl believed people would not be able to see an 8-foot-tall sign on that property from up to possibly 400 feet away.
The building sits off the street a bit. Stavedahl said a higher sign would ensure traffic would be able to see the location before they would see the building, especially coming from the east. He also said his building is also hidden by Boggs Automotive. With the current sign allotment, he said people can’t see the building coming from the east “until you’re practically on top of it.”
Currently, the only signs for the businesses on the property are on the building and Stavedahl said a taller sign would allow people to see the businesses on the property much sooner and reduce the possibility of sudden lane changes or stops. He has had several people tell him they’ve had issues finding the building.
He said a strict enforcement of the sign height ordinance creates unnecessary hardship unique to the property’s layout.
“We really do want our property to contribute to the success of the west side of the city of Warsaw,” he said. He added a higher sign could possibly attract more business.
He also said allowing a higher sign won’t negatively affect properties. He noted all the neighboring businesses with the exception of Boggs all have higher signs.
Tenants of the building are Tranquility Spa, Westside Tactical and Diligent Wealth Management, he said.
Board member Dave Baumgartner asked about the other higher signs in the area.
Taylor said there were other taller signs.
“In of itself, it isn’t a justification, but it just, it says something about the character of the corridor. So if this would be disruptive to that character, I would probably recommend not approving it, but I think the character is all ready - those signs might have predated the ordinance, there’s a lot of reasons why those signs might be there,” Taylor said, noting allowing a taller sign at Stavedahl’s property would not negatively affect that.
There were no remonstrators.
In other business, the board approved:
• A petition from Beverly Holloway to allow a 10-foot-by-16-foot shed in the northwest corner at 913 N. Park Ave.
The shed would be the third freestanding accessory building on the lot. Section 12.0.4.1 of the city’s municipal code states only two freestanding accessory buildings are permitted per lot. Two existing sheds are located to the south of the residence and are visible from the road.
There were no remonstrators.
• A petition from Glenn Hochstetler and Michael and Emily Gough to allow a 20 foot setback on the waterfront property line at 730 Biscayne Ave., a residence situated ona peninsula within Little Pike Lake.
Article 12 of the city’s municipal code places the building setback at 25 feet where the yard adjoins a lake or waterway, Taylor said. The need for the encroachment is due to a renovation which encloses the existing deck and adds a new deck onto the rear of the house. Satellite imagery dating back to 2011 appears to show little to no change to the shoreline over the past 15 years. However, Taylor said it is possible some erosion occurred based on the apparent location of the property on city and county GIS data.
There were no remonstrators.
