[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6055820,"mediaKeyId","3314790-0e7af990a58d8af19ebc1ffcd2c337f6","parentId",3314790,"title","Board approves lot-frontage variance for Spring Mill Road property after discovering illegal subdivision","audioSeconds",473,"startMs",1753000,"endMs",2226000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3314790-0e7af990a58d8af19ebc1ffcd2c337f6&start=1753&end=2226","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3314790-0e7af990a58d8af19ebc1ffcd2c337f6/thumbnail_1753000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6055820/Westfield/Hamilton-County/Indiana/Board-approves-lot-frontage-variance-for-Spring-Mill-Road-property-after-discovering-illegal-subdivision","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6055820-f5199f2d08cdff27de544da2f0fcd930/orig.mp4?Expires=1771138975&Signature=RwhMThYm~NQxb~07bYRZ9U9mgMveDcfAhOaq9-f5MPF4MMm~eu9xHymjV72C7ONYDYCTTPLQc9dF2k1GWQV3DlABR715SRV6~2MP5b2rdNuRWrg-TP-5z2cHGtxFd-Muk1Mwz0Viwt3527tCbC53aAfTOQuRCz0U5bR4LcgEqrT3i3xppjq8jk28A6YgWZ5mieAinpO4wncvVkWDqOfOtaiVM2stqSxtBwidljMDm-oQHwxdRsx2hhMrUWo0zAmc26S36bVe~5PRCZBAcsuq17PUWJaipfwrEp5BJH2-YXldqdvsWOwGyxp6E~aMjAkW1cy8vsipxNXy5IUKbk9D5Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Westfield IN","date","2025-05-14T11:43:17Z","article","The Westfield board approved a variance to modify the minimum lot frontage for a six-acre property at 19010 Spring Mill Road, allowing the parcel’s frontage requirement to be recorded as 0 feet so that the new owners may proceed with a building addition.

Dane Crabtree of the Community Development Department said the parcel had been illegally subdivided in February 2003 and that no permits could be issued until the noncompliance was rectified. The property’s current access is across a separate 0.55-acre parcel; Crabtree said the issue surfaced when the new owners submitted an improvement location permit for a building addition.

Neighbor Michael Hoagberg, who lives at 624 Cowley Drive directly south of the parcel, told the board the new owners were good neighbors and urged approval, saying the property had previously been used as an event venue and a short-term rental but that the new owners planned a private residence and renovations. Owner Jeffrey Brown told the board he and his wife intend to renovate and live on the property and had no plans to resume commercial event use.

Board members moved and seconded a motion to approve variance 2505-VS-07. The roll call vote was recorded in the transcript as unanimous: Mister Buller — yes; Mister Clarino — yes; Mister Plummer — yes; Mister Bunkafist — yes; Doctor Keane — yes. The board also approved the findings of fact for the item by the same recorded vote. Crabtree said the item had been properly noticed and no public comments were received prior to the meeting other than those presented live.

With approval recorded, the property owners may proceed with the building-permit process once required documentation is filed to resolve the frontage noncompliance.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Zoning Appeals 05/13/2024","oneSentenceSummary","The board approved a request to modify minimum lot frontage from 250 feet to 0 feet for a six-acre parcel at 19010 Spring Mill Road after staff found the property had been illegally split in 2003; the new owners plan a building addition.","taxTitle","Westfield, Hamilton County, Indiana","taxId",54406,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6055825,"Westfield board denies height variance for Cornerstone Bible Church expansion",1427,192000,1619000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3314790-0e7af990a58d8af19ebc1ffcd2c337f6&start=192&end=1619","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3314790-0e7af990a58d8af19ebc1ffcd2c337f6/thumbnail_192000.jpg","/articles/6055825/Westfield/Hamilton-County/Indiana/Westfield-board-denies-height-variance-for-Cornerstone-Bible-Church-expansion","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6055825-a03dace7676d6d799bcc4327f9ba9c4b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771138975&Signature=LOf6CxMa9KZbGm0kzr0dxu9GeYYVWJmkhIsv~rTd4iCr4wgDT2sQ56XSF7jBS4eVKN-5UOtT4RoOM8ruxrNq2gLR54qgzbTf~zuRUK-hYjFoklgvML8TcQcUIGVexChaCv9KrFHACxPC0rMX66XRF8GK6lq-1f9sTOqHYtXNUXr6bj0lw7sZYEg1j2AuurqhiRL0nWvpGnMBswFWu5GlBi3nNicUtsHPkAnwtLMynSF2Ym0usAFSpX2Mo5oQ5PzTo0di6oe0y-OM-7c13q4O2gFdJHn9xqQTrIEH0pDh9ltnc0gkY9jalYfv3hM6dB02C0oQ2t7uzhS3B1sN4au30w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Westfield board voted to disapprove a requested variance that would have increased the allowable mean building height from 25 to 33 feet for Cornerstone Bible Church’s proposed sanctuary expansion on a 4.1-acre lot in the Centennial subdivision.

The request mattered to neighbors and board members because the expansion would place a taller sanctuary closer to the street and could affect traffic, parking and nearby property values. Dane Crabtree of the Community Development Department told the board that church steeples are exempt under Article 6.6 of the Unified Development Ordinance but that the proposed increase in mean building height triggered the variance request.

The church’s architect, Barry Knechtel of KJG Architecture, told the board the addition would add about 9 feet to the sanctuary ridgeline and that the design choice was intended to maintain the church’s existing New England–style appearance. \"The goal and desire is to maintain the architectural appearance that the church has,\" Knechtel said. He also said the church held a neighbor meeting May 5 and plans to address lighting and parking concerns raised there.

A nearby resident, Mary Catmoleski of 671 Piedmont, said the neighborhood did not expect a larger, more congested church. \"It is already a megachurch. We are a neighborhood,\" she said, asking the board not to grant the variance because of traffic, noise and pedestrian impacts.

Board members debated whether the board’s role was to assess use or only the height variance. Crabtree explained that in single-family districts a dwelling may be increased to 35 feet if side-yard setbacks are increased, and that steeples are explicitly exempt under the UDO. He also said no traffic study had been prepared because the expansion, if submitted as conforming plans at 25 feet, would be permitted by right, making a parking study of limited value for this review.

A motion to disapprove variance 2504-VS-06 was made and seconded. The roll call vote on the negative motion to disapprove was recorded as: Doctor Keane — yes; Mister Boaler — yes; Mister Clarino — yes; Mister Plummer — yes; Mister Bunkafist — no. The motion to disapprove carried. The board will draft and adopt findings of fact reflecting the disapproval at the next meeting.

The decision blocks the church’s current design as presented; the architect and church may revise the design to meet the 25-foot standard without returning to the board, or submit a different variance request in the future. Findings of fact will be prepared for the board to adopt next month.","The board voted to disapprove a requested variance to raise the mean building height from 25 to 33 feet for Cornerstone Bible Church’s proposed sanctuary expansion after neighbors raised concerns about traffic, noise and neighborhood fit.","actionData","errors"]

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Board approves lot-frontage variance for Spring Mill Road property after discovering illegal subdivision

Westfield board denies height variance for Cornerstone Bible Church expansion