Planning director flags Board of Zoning Appeals vacancy, schedules rezoning and CUP hearings

Kenny Cook, Miami County planning director, told the Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 20 that Ken Berg has resigned as chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals and that the county needs to recruit a replacement. “The board zoning appeals primarily deals with requests for variances or appeals from staff decisions,” Cook said. He told commissioners the BZA meets “on an as needed basis” and the county usually sees one or two variance requests a year. Cook also notified the board that the planning commission held public hearings on a conditional-use permit for an expansion of Fontana Christian Church and on a rezoning request for a development identified as Wildlife Ridge on K-68 Lookout Road. He said the planning commission voted 4–1 to recommend denial of the rezoning request. Cook explained the procedural options commissioners will face if they consider the rezoning. “If all there is is a recommendation of denial and you guys would choose that you wanted to approve the request, that would require a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of County Commissioners,” he said. Cook added that if the board instead sends the request back to the planning commission for reconsideration, approval after a planning commission recommendation would need only a simple majority. He also noted that a valid protest petition representing 20% of property owners within the 1,000-foot notification radius would raise the threshold to a three-quarter majority for approval. Cook said there is a protest petition associated with the rezoning application and staff is calculating whether it meets the 20% threshold. He urged the commission to begin considering potential appointees to the BZA now, because two BZA cases are scheduled in the coming months. Cook also reviewed application fees related to appeals and variances: he stated an appeal is $200 and a variance application is $500. No appointment was made at the Aug. 20 study session. Cook said the BZA currently has enough members for a quorum but that commissioners should recommend candidates so the board can continue to hear cases without interruption.