St. Joseph County APC recommends rezoning of State Road 23 property; denies gravel-parking and one screening variance

The St. Joseph County Area Planning Commission on May 20 voted to send a favorable recommendation to the St. Joseph County Council to rezone a property at 14212 State Road 23 in Granger from the R (single-family) district to OB (office buffer) while denying two requested variances for an unpaved gravel driveway/parking area and for screening; the commission approved a third variance for lot width with staff-recommended conditions.

Ariel Sharif, Area Plan Commission staff, told the commission the petitioner — identified in the notice as REIT Solutions LLC — sought rezoning and three variances: to allow a gravel driveway/parking area where a hard surface is required; to substitute a six-foot fence and existing vegetation for required Type 1 landscaping along the east lot line; and to allow a lot width below the OB district minimum. Sharif said staff recommended an unfavorable rezoning and recommended denial of the gravel-parking variance while supporting the landscaping and lot-width variances.

The recommendation matters because the property sits in the middle of a mostly residential block of State Road 23 in the…