Hammond Board OKs drive‑through conditional use; considers parking reduction for Mercantile Plaza project

The Hammond City Board of Zoning Appeals on June 3 approved a conditional use request to allow a drive‑through at a proposed restaurant and took up a related request to reduce parking requirements for a redevelopment at 3514 (address as listed in the petition).

The approvals affect Hammond Mercantile Plaza LLC’s plan to demolish an existing bank and build an approximately 12,000‑square‑foot retail center that the petitioner says will include a Dollar Tree store and an about 1,800‑square‑foot restaurant with a drive‑through window. The petitioner presented site and construction drawings showing a drive‑through lane and traffic stacking; staff recommended approval of the conditional use and of the variance subject to conditions, including recorded cross‑access and sanitary sewer easements.

Jim Weiser, the attorney representing Hammond Mercantile Plaza LLC, told the board the redevelopment “is approximately 12,000 square feet” and that the team already obtained redevelopment commission approval and subdivision approval from the plan commission. “We provided findings of fact to demonstrate that those [conditional‑use] standards were, in fact, in our opinion, satisfied,” Weiser said. He also said the applicant agrees to record the easement documents listed in the staff recommendation.

Why it matters: the dual approvals change how the site can be used and how many off‑street parking spaces…