Lebanon BZA allows interim commercial-vehicle storage at multiple sites with paving and fence conditions

The City of Lebanon Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 4 approved variance-of-use requests to allow limited commercial vehicle storage and maintenance on properties along South Indianapolis Road and County Road 200 East, imposing conditions that all drive and parking areas be paved and that owners install 6-foot wood privacy fences with utility access clearances.

City planning staff told the board the properties sit in the R-1 residential zone but are adjacent to interstate and industrial uses and are designated for industrial uses in the city’s comprehensive plan; staff said a targeted variance lets the properties be used in a limited way now without rezoning the whole corridor. City planning staff Ben Bontrager said the approvals are intended to be interim and narrowly limited to the uses the applicants proposed.

Ben Bontrager, city planning staff, summarized the recommended conditions: approval limited to the commercial-vehicle-storage uses proposed, paved driveway and parking/storage areas with an approved hard surface, and installation of a 6-foot wood privacy fence for screening. Bontrager said the city would require right-of-way permits for any new drive cuts and that future increases in intensity or a different use would require return to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Applicants described local concerns and timing. Carlos Gill, representing the property at 2050 South Indianapolis Road (he gave his address as 2215 S. Indianapolis Road), said the site’s truck traffic would use County Road 200 East rather than Indianapolis Road: “Most of whatever traffic that we have is gonna go on the, 200. We don't want that traffic going to Indianapolis Road,” he said. Gill said he expects to install the privacy fence first and complete paving after drainage fixes, likely next spring.

Julianne Linas, owner of 2030 (listed as 2030 South 200 East), told the board she sought a secure site because trucks she parks at truck stops have been targeted: “we keep getting diesel stolen out of our trucks…That was the main reason we really want the fence,” she said, adding the site would allow basic maintenance and safer parking nearer customers.

Board members and staff discussed drainage and sight lines. Staff said several properties have standing water in the rear and that applicants are working with the city’s stormwater staff to install an outlet tile from the low area toward the road ditch to relieve ponding before extensive paving. Staff also required that fence corners line up with neighboring fences and that fence placements leave at least 10 feet of separation from utility poles along County Road 200 East to allow utility access. Board members voiced concerns about whether a 6-foot fence would screen tall trucks and about sight-distance and intersection geometry where 200 East meets Indianapolis Road; staff and applicants said traffic would be routed to 200 East and that right-of-way permits would be required for new drives.

Actions taken: the board approved the commercial-vehicle-storage variance for the property at 2050 South Indianapolis Road, with conditions requiring paving and a 6-foot wood privacy fence and limiting the approval to the uses shown (motion and second recorded; board members registered aye). The board then approved a development-standard variance allowing a privacy fence within the required front setback at the same 2050 property subject to matching corner locations and 10-foot separation from utility poles. The board subsequently approved an identical variance-of-use request for 2030 South Indianapolis Road (commercial vehicle storage) with the same paving and fence conditions, and approved the matching fence variance for 2030 with a 16-foot setback along Indianapolis Road and 10-foot minimum separation from utility poles on 200 East.

Discussion-only items, staff directions and formal actions were kept separate: staff advised applicants to obtain right-of-way permits for new drive cuts; staff directed applicants to coordinate drainage fixes with the city’s stormwater staff; and the board’s approvals were formal motions limiting the uses to those proposed and attaching the paving and fencing conditions. Several board members said they were not fully comfortable with a 6-foot fence as a visual screen for tall trucks but voted in favor of the conditional approvals.

The approvals allow owners to park and do limited maintenance in the paved areas; building construction would require separate permits and inspections. The board set no specific date for completion of paving beyond applicants’ testimony that paving would likely occur the following spring after drainage work.

The board’s next regular meeting was scheduled for Sept. 2.