BZA approves landlocked lot split on Mink Street, subject to subdivision process and permits

The Pataskala City Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday approved two variances to permit a proposed lot split at 4151 Mink Street SW that would create a landlocked roughly 13‑acre parcel with no frontage on a public thoroughfare and reduce the required minimum block width at the right of way from 250 feet to zero.

Planning staff and the applicant said the split is prompted by the landowner’s desire to free equity in the larger 33.13‑acre parcel; staff noted the parcel’s only public frontage is a roughly 60‑foot‑wide strip and that creating the rear parcel would require a shared‑access easement and trigger a major subdivision review because an easement of access must be created.

Jack, the city planning staff member, described the site and the proposed configuration: the existing parcel is set back from Mink Street, with an approximately 60‑foot frontage strip about 465 feet long. The applicant proposes to split roughly 13 acres from the rear of the lot; the new parcel would have no frontage to public right of way and would be accessed via an easement over the existing driveway that runs south and then east around the existing structure. Jack said the variance requests were necessary because Pataskala code (§11.17.17(c) and §12.25.05(b)) requires lot frontage on a public thoroughfare and a minimum width of 250 feet at the right of way for lots in the AG district.

Doctor Christine Chariton, who identified herself as the owner at 4151 Mink Street SW, told the board she planned the parcel for a single‑family dwelling and said utilities and soil testing have been completed for the area proposed as a new lot. Neighbors spoke at the hearing expressing concerns about drainage and driveway width for emergency access. Neighbor Charles Jenkins described existing drainage that he says washes through the shared driveway and onto adjacent properties, causing erosion and standing water near his porch. Another neighbor, Sherry Venoy of Cable Road, raised concerns about the narrow shared driveway and whether emergency vehicles could reach a future dwelling.

Staff noted that because the proposal would require creation of an access easement it qualifies as a major subdivision under Pataskala code and will need to go to the planning and zoning commission for preliminary plan review and the subdivision process before any building permits are issued. The Licking County Health Department advised the applicant it requires lot‑split approval before health permits will be processed. Jack told the board he received a letter of opposition from an adjacent property owner and that surrounding land uses include agricultural parcels and single‑family homes.

After weighing the BZA finding criteria, the board voted to approve the variances (reduction of frontage/width requirements and the lot without direct street frontage) and attached the standard condition that the applicant obtain all necessary permits from the City of Pataskala within one year. The board emphasized that the approval is one step in a longer process: the applicant must pursue the major subdivision and access‑easement reviews, and any drainage or emergency‑access issues will be addressed through engineering, subdivision review and permitting.