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Harold and Bonnie Nicholia discovered recently that selling their Milford property on land contract may have not been the best move after all.
At Tuesday's Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, the Nicholias petitioned for an exception for five unit dwellings on a tract of ground that is undersized and doesn't have enough off-street parking. The property, on the north side of Emeline Street and 100 feet west of Ind. 15 in Milford, is zoned commercial and used to be a video store.
According to Bonnie Nicholia, they sold the building a year ago on land contract. The man who bought it put five apartments in the building but didn't finish all of them. When the man went bankrupt, the Nicholias got the property back about a week ago. Since the bottom part of the building already has two completed apartments in it, the Nicholias want to go ahead and finish the five apartments in the building.
A letter from the Milford Town Council said the council would prefer no more than two apartments on the second floor of the building and none on the first. The council wants the lower floor to remain commercial. If the entire building is used for apartments, that may set a precedent for other commercial buildings in downtown Milford, something the council does not want to see.
Bonnie Nicholia said all the apartment residents have been moved out since the Nicholias took control of the building. Harold Nicholia said they're trying to find out what they can do with the building before they decide whether or not to sell it. They've owned it for 10-12 years.
A remonstrator, Ben Wilson, of 202 S. Henry St., said he's concerned about the neighborhood should the Nicholia property be converted to a multi-family dwelling. Another concern, he said, is the traffic congestion that would be caused on the street if the building had five units.
The BZA approved only two rental units on the top floor of the building and a commercial establishment downstairs.
In other business, the BZA:
• Approved Mark Harness' petition for an exception to change a nonconforming use by allowing the construction of a 40-foot by 72-foot building to replace an existing building (Lancelot Motors) in a commercial district. The property is on the west side of Ind. 13 and 200 feet north of Sylvester Street in Tippecanoe Township.
• Approved Myron and Evelyn Tschupp's petition to allow a fence to be 5 feet tall in the street yard. The property is on the south side of Emeline Street and 81.5 feet west of Henry Street in Van Buren Township.
• Approved Robyn Faurote's petition for a variance to permit the construction of a residence 20 feet from a platted road right of way, not 10 feet as requested. The property is on the south side of Lakeview Drive and zero feet west of EMS B61F Lane in Tippecanoe Township.
• Denied Steve Daeger's petition for an exception for a home-based business (welding) in an agricultural district. The property is on the north side of Shoop Road and zero feet east of Ind. 13 in Washington Township.
• Approved UZMEZ Inc.'s petition for an exception to allow an 8-foot by 24-foot cargo trailer on a tract to be used as part of a remediation process for three years in a commercial district. The property is on the south side of Lake Street and 130 feet east of Hepler Drive in Wayne Township.
• Continued indefinitely Susann Kellogg's petition for a variance to allow a residence addition to remain 5 feet from a front access. The property is on the south side of Black Point Road and 800 feet west of Elm Grove Drive in Turkey Creek Township.
• Approved Greg and Lynne LaFollette's petition for a variance to permit a residence to remain as constructed 32.8 feet from a right of way and 6.5 feet from a south side property line. The property is on the east side of Old Orchard Drive and 150 feet north of Barberry Drive in Wayne Township. The BZA also approved a fine of $2,500 plus attorney fees against the contractor for the zoning violation.
• Approved James and Katie Orr's petition for a variance to allow a residence addition 22 feet from the water and to add a closet to a nonconforming use within setbacks. The property is on the east side of Waco Point Drive and 200 feet north of Waco Drive in Turkey Creek Township.
• Denied Ethel Grace Gruber's petitions for a variance and an exception. No one was present at the meeting to represent Gruber.
The exception is to allowing five apartments in a commercial district. The variance would allow a tattoo parlor, photo shop, J&J Surplus and the five apartments on a tract of ground that requires 39 parking spaces but has only 14 off-street parking spaces. The property is on the east side of Ind. 13 in Washington Township.
Members of the BZA include Bob Beer, Walter Church, Vic Virgil, Charlie Haffner and Ron Sharp. They meet at 8:30 a.m. in the county courthouse on the second Tuesday of every month.
