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BZA grants partial buffer-yard variance for New Holland dealer near Rossville
Summary
The Clinton County BZA approved a partial variance June 24 allowing New Holland Rossville to limit buffer plantings along a long roadside display area and near solar panels, subject to an exhibit showing specific planting locations and required building landscaping.
The Clinton County Board of Zoning Appeals on June 24 approved a partial variance allowing reduced buffer-yard plantings at a New Holland dealership site on the northwest corner of State Road 26 and County Road 330 West in Ross Township. The variance spares a long front display area and the length adjacent to an onsite solar field from the full buffer requirement, while requiring specified plantings elsewhere and new landscaping at the building.
Staff explained the property is a preexisting farm-equipment-sales site that recently completed construction of a new primary building. Administrative waivers already removed buffer-yard requirements on the north and east sides where parking or buildings prevent plantings. The applicant requested a variance to avoid planting the entire frontage used as an equipment display and to keep plantings clear of solar panels.
"Staff recommends to approve a partial variance on the south," a staff member told the board and presented a schematic (entered as exhibit A) showing where reduced plantings would be allowed and where plantings must be installed. Staff recommended that plantings not be placed where they would shade solar panels and that landscaping be added along the new building as a tradeoff for reduced roadway buffers.
Neil Fawcett, manager of the New Holland Rossville store, corrected the record on one factual point: "There are actually 5" solar panel arrays, not two as earlier noted. He said the dealership wants to keep the roadside display area open for equipment visibility and to plant a buffer behind the solar panels and near the pond where it will not shade panels.
Staff walked the board through the ordinance's planting standard: for every 100 linear feet of required frontage the lowest density requires roughly 1 deciduous shade tree, 2 evergreens and 1 shrub (four plantings per 100 linear feet). Staff provided an illustrative allocation tied to exhibit A so that the variance reduces required plantings only for the display area (roughly 350–400 feet) while preserving plantings at the corners and along the remainder of the front property line. The BZA motion to approve incorporated exhibit A and required building landscaping as a condition; the motion passed on a 4-0 roll-call vote (Grant Mueller: yes; Stacy Pedigo: yes; Scott Hudsensberger: yes; Chester Banks: yes).
Conditions recorded with the approval require: (1) installation of buffer yards that remain (per exhibit A), (2) installation of proposed landscaping along the new building in exchange for not requiring a front buffer there, and (3) that the north and east sides remain administratively waived (the 50% administrative waiver). Staff and the applicant agreed plantings must be sited to avoid shading the solar panels and that the dealership will work with staff on species selection and final layout.
