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Board approves 10-foot rear-yard variance for proposed Toledo Road building
Summary
The Elkhart City Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a request to reduce the rear-yard setback from 20 feet to 10 feet for a proposed 16,000-square-foot building on Toledo Road, citing staff findings and the site's adjacency to industrial uses.
The Elkhart City Board of Zoning Appeals on April 11 voted unanimously to grant a developmental variance reducing the required rear-yard setback from 20 feet to 10 feet for a vacant parcel on Toledo Road (petition 24BZA-03).
The variance was requested by the property owner, represented at the hearing by Terry Lang of the Whiteman Company. Lang told the board the narrower setback would allow sufficient parking on the 1.3-acre B-2 Community Business District site and that the design had been coordinated with city planning and engineering staff.
City staff and the board said the proposal is consistent with nearby industrial-scale uses. Mike Huber, Director of Development Services for the City of Elkhart, said the comprehensive plan generally calls for industrial use in the area and noted the parcel abuts a large campus occupied by Indiana Michigan Power. The staff report described the proposal as a 16,000-square-foot building with off-street loading and parking; it noted no tenant has been identified and recommended approval with a condition that the petitioner submit final site plans and facade elevations to technical review.
During deliberations the board discussed prior attempts to rezone the property and whether the proposed building footprint would fit required development standards. No members of the public spoke in opposition or favor at the public-comment portion of the hearing.
Chairperson [name withheld on transcript] called for a roll-call vote after a motion to approve the petition adopting the petitioner’s submittal and the staff’s findings. The board recorded unanimous votes in favor: Davis — Yes; Roger Rykov — Yes; Mulvaney — Yes. The motion passed and the variance was approved.
The approval is subject to the staff-recommended condition that final plans be submitted for technical review and for facade elevation approval. The petitioner remains required to follow standard permitting and plan-review processes before construction begins.
The case will return only if further appeals or additional hearings are required under the city’s procedures.
