DeKalb BZA approves use variance for plant nursery on floodplain parcel in Auburn

The DeKalb County Board of Zoning Appeals on a voice vote approved a use variance to allow a commercial plant nursery at 4043 County Road 46A in Auburn, the board heard during its meeting.

Planning staff presented the petition, telling the board the property is zoned A-2 agricultural and that a nursery is not listed as a permitted use in that district. Staff said the proposed planting area, roughly two acres, falls within a floodway or flood fringe and therefore is considered undevelopable for structures absent separate approvals. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided letters indicating no objection to the nursery so long as no structures are built and the topography is not altered, staff said. "They don't have any issues with this plant nursery provided, you know, you're not building any structures," planning staff said.

Applicant James Snucker told the board the existing barn and a small solar field are outside the flood zone and that the nursery would be a commercial operation selling plants to vendors, though not a large-scale facility. Board members questioned the size and existing site conditions; staff and the applicant estimated the planting area at "probably roughly 2 acres." The county surveyor's letter noted a 75-foot setback measured both ways from an on-site drain; board members were told planting within that setback is allowed but that any maintenance requiring removal of vegetation would require removal of plantings in that zone.

Staff recommended approval with conditions intended to protect drainage and require agency sign-offs. Proposed conditions, which the board adopted, include continued board jurisdiction to enforce terms, approval limited to a plant nursery, a prohibition on obstructing off-site drainage or existing tiled drainage, and a requirement that no certificate of occupancy or completion be issued until the applicant files written evidence of compliance with applicable county or state agencies. Staff also noted letters from the DeKalb County Board of Health, Highway Department, Drainage Board, Surveyor, Soil and Water Conservation District and the DeKalb County Airport Authority were on file.

The board voted in favor of the motion to approve; those recorded answering "yes" during roll call on the motion were Roy Walker, Duane Funk, Jason Carnahan and Frank Palmer. The motion passed with the conditions as noted.

The approval allows planting and commercial nursery operations only; the written conditions and agency approvals must be completed before any certificate of occupancy or completion is issued.