Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Industrial Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board defers two industrial‑park variance requests tied to Buckeye pipeline easement
Summary
Regional BRS Lots 37 and 38 LLC asked for variances to allow partial stone surfacing and reduced setbacks for flex office‑warehouse buildings; the Board of Zoning Appeals deferred both petitions pending site markings and a final Buckeye encroachment agreement.
The Town of Merrillville Board of Zoning Appeals deferred two variance petitions from Regional BRS Lots 37 & 38 LLC—Z10V2‑0425 (Lot 37) and Z11V3‑0425 (Lot 38)—after applicants and staff discussed constraints imposed by a Buckeye pipeline easement that runs behind the lots.
The petitioner representatives, including Nick Georgiou and Carlos Ruiz, told the board the pipeline easement limits paving on the rear portion of the lots: Buckeye has allowed a seven‑foot paved band and would permit a stone surface for the remaining easement area rather than asphalt. Georgiou said that constraint and the need for truck maneuvering led the developers to request two variances: (1) allow partial stone surface in lieu of asphalt on roughly 18 feet of the easement and (2) reduce the north side yard setback on Lot 37 from 20 feet to 5 feet to accommodate a roughly 10,000‑square‑foot building. For Lot 38 the request was to reduce a corner side yard from 40 feet to 20 feet.
Staff summarized the requests and noted the development potential is limited by the Buckeye pipeline easement. Board members asked for on‑site markings and suggested a survey, and they repeatedly urged the petitioner to bring a final, recorded encroachment agreement from Buckeye if possible. The petitioners said drafts are in place and offered to make final agreements available; they also said fire access would be maintained.
After questions and no public speakers, a board member moved to defer both petitions until the next meeting to allow site visits and the submission of final Buckeye documentation. The board voted 5‑0 to defer each petition; for the second petition the motion explicitly included a requirement for a signed and recordable Buckeye encroachment agreement be provided before final consideration.
The board requested the petitioners mark property corners and set temporary survey stakes to assist the site visit, and staff said the body’s recommendation will still require Town Council action where applicable.
