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Three petitions were granted, one denied and one dismissed at the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals Monday.
Jerry Creekmore's request for a tree trimming business at 428 W. Pike St., an R-3 zoned district, was dismissed.
Creekmore failed to appear at the meeting and there was no proof of notification to adjacent property owners.
Patricia Nichols' request for a therapeutic massage business, a variance from use standards, at 611 N. Grant St., was denied. Businesses are not permitted in residential districts without a variance.
Nichols is considering a purchase of the property. In addition to living in the house, she intended to have customers park and enter the rear of the house, causing little disruption in the neighborhood.
Originally requesting a 2-foot by 3-foot wall sign, she allowed a 1-square-foot sign would be adequate. She said there was room for two or three cars at the back of the property and she would house her vehicle in the garage.
Several Grant Street residents appeared at the meeting to remostrate against the request.
A letter sent to the board against the proposal was read. Nineteen signatures were noted on the petition, all from Grant Street residents.
The letter stated the rear of 611 N. Grant St. is where the alley south of Grant Street dead-ends. There is no turnaround space except to use private property.
Hal Haegy, Dave Gargis, Pat Welker and Eric Alspaugh all said children cross and play in the alley. They expressed concern that strangers may not be aware of the blind spots along the alley.
Board president Bruce Woodward said he visited the location and agreed with the residents that it was a dangerous alley. When he turned around at 611 N. Grant St., he said, he ended up across the 9-foot alley in someone else's drive.
In other business, the board:
• Approved the petition of Mike Loher for an accessory building 23 feet tall at 619 Austin Drive.
Loher's property is 32 acres in size, and the rural setting was considered for the accessory building variance. Maximum height for accessory buildings is 18 feet without a variance.
He said he may not have to build that high but wanted that option.
• Approved a request by Chris and Sandra Katris to build a second-story addition onto a non-conforming structure within a flood hazard area at 945 Country Club Lane.
• Approved a petition by Nancy Blue, 1125 Country Club Drive, for a 13-foot front-yard setback for a deck.
Board members are Bruce Woodward, Dan Hampton, Tom Heuer, Richard Keeven and Alan Clingan.
