SALEM — The Salem Board of Zoning Appeals voted 2-1 Monday against a variance requested by the owner of Highlander Laundry for a building addition.
Citing a need for a detailed survey to ensure the distance from the property line is correct, along with Chairman Mark Pietrzak’s concern with leaving a 1-foot rear yard, the board said they’ll schedule a special meeting once the survey is in hand and the request is resubmitted. Both Pietrzak and board member Amanda Jackson voted against the variance request, with board member Tim Baillie in favor of it.
“I don’t think we have enough information,” Pietrzak said.
At issue was a 19-foot rear yard variance on the south side of the property which has an address at 231 W. Second St. The parking lot and front door of the building actually face North Howard Street, but because the address is on Second Street, the south side which faces a Stadium building on Howard is considered the rear yard area.
Business owner Dave Biggins of East Palestine explained he bought the laundromat a year ago and wanted to expand the west side of the building to build a new office area, install bigger dryers, install a snack area, reconfigure the folding tables and install large windows to make it easier for customers and police to see inside.
He basically wanted to bump out the western side of the existing building and keep in line with the existing southern wall, which is currently 1 foot from the property line according to his records.
The new portion on the southern side of the building would match up with the current building and be 1 foot from the property line, requiring him to request a 19-foot rear yard variance from the required 20 feet for the new section.
Among the paperwork he submitted with his request was a letter from Stadium General Manager Mike Hudak, who said he had no issues with Biggins adding on to the laundromat.
His plans were initially slowed by COVID-19 but said that gave him time to see what can work better in the space. The new dryers would allow customers to pay with their phones, which would alleviate some of the coin shortage problems that came up during the pandemic. He would also have more space to turn the folding tables away from the dryers to give customers more room.
Biggins said he wanted to have the more detailed survey done, but was told to hold off to see what the board decides first. Pietrzak said 1 foot isn’t very much space and questioned how he’ll be able to pour footers and maintain that small amount of ground without going on the neighboring property owned by Stadium.
Baillie explained to Pietrzak and Jackson that all Biggins was doing was extending the building to the west and that the actual line of the new section of building on the south would be the same as the existing building, 1 foot from the property line.
Baillie said he didn’t have a problem with it, noting the property has been a well-maintained business for a lot of years.
“We want to do everything we can to encourage businesses to make improvements,” he said.
He also commented, “I think we’re overcomplicating the issue,” later adding, “I don’t see why we would want to hold up his project.”
He moved for the board to approve the project with the understanding that the more detailed survey had to be done to confirm the numbers, but he was the only one to vote yes.
Pietrzak didn’t feel it was good practice to not have the survey and continued to question how the owner’s going to maintain the property with just 1 foot on the south side.
Baillie said he’s already doing it and Biggins also said the existing building is already there. He said he assumed running off of the existing building would be the easiest way.
He also said during the meeting that the longer he has to wait, the more likely it’s not going to happen this year.
mgreier@salemnews.net
"Short" - Google News
June 22, 2021 at 01:09PM
https://ift.tt/2UtFvlh
Zoning bid falls short | News, Sports, Jobs - SalemNews.net
"Short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QJPxcA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Zoning bid falls short | News, Sports, Jobs - SalemNews.net"
Post a Comment