Zoners Approve Football Helmet Assembling Facility Variance Request
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance at its meeting Monday that will allow a football helmet assembly facility in Warsaw.
The board approved the request from owners Curtis and Brenda Worrell to permit light manufacturing in a C-2 general business zoning district at 307 S. Bronson St.
The operation consists of assembling pre-manufactured parts into football helmets, according to Worrell.
Deliveries and employee traffic will use the west entrance and parking lot on South Bronson Street.
There is a main door and overhead door on the east side adjacent to a residential structure on Jefferson Street.
Warsaw resident Eric Kimes, whose mother Sandra lives at 1413 E. Jefferson St., across the street from the facility, attended the meeting and said he has concerns with paint fumes from the facility interfering with his mother's health.
He said she has lived at the residence for the past 40 years and suffers from emphysema and asthma.
"I am not opposed to the facility, but more importantly concerned about my mother's health," Kimes said.
Worrell said there will be a paint booth on site and a 24-inch exhaust fan that will contain the fumes. He said helmet painting will take place less than an hour a week.
He said the paint booth has filters that go into a 50-gallon barrel so the fumes do not go into the outside air.
Worrell said there is no manufacturing or retail sales on site. All sales are through dealers and the Internet, he said.
Board President Bruce Woodward said in the past, the building had been used for warehousing, a used-car lot and a muffler shop.
The board approved the variance of use with the following conditions: the number of employees is not to exceed five; hours of operation will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Saturday hours from 7 a.m. to noon and no Sunday hours; the business's dumpster must be screened on both sides, and a buffer must be provided on the east side of the property to provide screening and insulation from the noise and exhaust fan.
Other conditions include a satisfactory inspection of the facility and paint booth must be completed by the Warsaw Fire Department chief of inspections and the building commissioner, and the east overhead garage door must remain closed at all times to provide insulation of noise from the equipment to the surrounding properties.
Also during the meeting, the board denied two variance requests from petitioners James and Amy Lea, of 612 S. Washington St.
The requests were for a variance to exceed the maximum allowable size of an accessory structure at 612 S. Washington St., and a variance to allow for a single-family residence in an accessory structure.
The family was requesting to build a three-car garage with an additional residence on the property.
The board discussed the requests at its May 24 meeting and tabled approving the variance requests.
"I do not want to set a precedent by allowing two single-family homes on a single residential lot and I feel this request is out of character for the neighborhood," Woodward said.
The board also:
n Approved a variance from development standards request from Dennis and Cindy Koehring, 1700 Jenny Lane.
The request was to allow an 8-foot privacy fence from the 6-foot fence requirement. The intent for the fence is to protect their house from coyotes entering the family's yard.
n Approved a request from Steve Ladwig, Warsaw Nissan, to allow a second free-standing sign in a C-3 arterial commercial zoning district, at 2859 Frontier Drive. The car dealership is moving from its Winona Avenue location.
Sign permits were issued May 29 for wall signs on the building and one freestanding sign located on the Frontier Drive side of the property.
Board members are Woodward, Tom Heuer, Dan Hampton, Tom Allen and Rick Keeven.
