BZA approves SIMTRA sign and interior-landscaping variances, requires Liberty Drive sidewalk

The Monroe County Board of Zoning Appeals on June 4 approved three variances for the SIMTRA site at 617 South Curry Pike, allowing changes to how interior parking landscaping and a pair of gate signs are implemented while carving out the sidewalk requirement for Curry Pike and requiring a sidewalk along the site’s South Liberty Drive frontage.

Staff and the petitioner said the changes respond to operational needs at the campus and to engineering constraints at the site. Planning staff recommended approval of the landscaping and sign setback variances and recommended denial of the sidewalk variance for Curry Pike; the board accepted staff’s landscaping and sign recommendations and approved the sidewalk variance only as conditioned to require SIMTRA to construct sidewalk on the west side of South Liberty Drive.

Daniel Brown, planning staff, told the board the site plan approved in February 2024 had called for converting 41 parking stalls into interior landscaping islands but that the petitioner later said those spaces are required for operations. Brown said the site-wide landscaping plan still provides a large excess of landscape density value and that staff supported relocating landscaping to other on-site areas rather than installing islands that would remove parking in a special flood hazard area. Brown said staff calculated the large south parking lot would provide 0 trees, 28 shrubs and 395 grasses/perennials for a density-value total of 2,999 and that, converted only to trees, the shortfall would equal roughly 43 trees; staff noted other site areas make up an overall excess density value for the campus.

Bridal Seward, civil engineer with Kimley‑Horn & Associates, and Julianna Mendez, project manager for SIMTRA, described the operational change after the site changed ownership and the company’s need to retain parking to serve three shifts of workers. Mendez told the board that restoring the 41 spaces would raise the site count to 596 and that SIMTRA proposes to reallocate landscaping elsewhere on the campus rather than remove parking islands in flood‑prone areas. Seward and Mendez said the company will document preserved existing landscaping and add plantings in other contiguous areas to meet, in aggregate, the ordinance’s intent.

Anne Krasilius (planning staff) reviewed the sign requests and explained that one of the two existing Curry Pike signs did not meet the definition of a ground sign on further review, so a second sign‑allocation variance (VAR‑25‑8f) was not required and was listed as void. Staff supported a 0‑foot setback variance for two small gate signs (VAR‑25‑8e) because the signs are located close to a gate and would not interfere with sight distance.

On sidewalks, Brown said the site lies inside the county’s urban‑area boundary where the County Development Ordinance prompts sidewalks for site plans. Estimates showed roughly 1,600 feet of sidewalk would be needed along Curry Pike and about 680 feet along South Liberty Drive to meet the standard. Brown told the board the county and city have prioritized sidewalks on both sides of South Liberty and Curry Pike, but he said installing sidewalk on Curry Pike to the site’s frontage faces engineering constraints, utility conflicts and a nearby railroad crossing that make a Curry Pike sidewalk impractical at this location.

SIMTRA’s representatives proposed a compromise: the board could grant the variance from the Curry Pike sidewalk requirement while asking SIMTRA to construct a sidewalk on the west side of South Liberty Drive to connect to nearby retail and pedestrian links. The board accepted that compromise and approved the landscaping variance (VAR‑25‑8b) and the sign setback variance (VAR‑25‑8e) by roll call 5–0. It also approved the sidewalk variance (VAR‑25‑8g) conditioned on SIMTRA providing sidewalk on the west side of South Liberty Drive and obtaining all required permits; the vote on the conditioned sidewalk variance was 5–0. VAR‑25‑8f (sign allocation) was found unnecessary/void during staff review.

Board members cited the site’s existing conditions — including floodplain constraints, the large existing parking field and the campus’s 24/7 operational shifts — when weighing the equivalence of distributed landscaping versus parking‑island plantings. Opponents did not appear during the public comment period; one construction contractor and SIMTRA employees addressed practical construction and traffic issues in support.

Where the board approved the sidewalk variance, it made that approval conditional on SIMTRA securing applicable permits and constructing the west‑side Liberty Drive sidewalk to ensure some immediate pedestrian benefit while recognizing the practical obstacles on Curry Pike.

Votes at the meeting: VAR‑25‑8b (interior parking/landscaping) — approved 5–0; VAR‑25‑8e (sign setback) — approved 5–0; VAR‑25‑8f (sign allocation) — void/withdrawn; VAR‑25‑8g (sidewalk requirement) — approved 5–0 with condition that SIMTRA construct sidewalk on the west side of South Liberty Drive and obtain applicable permits.

What’s next: SIMTRA will document preserved landscaping, submit permitting for the conditioned Liberty Drive sidewalk, and work with county staff on final site plan and permit filings. Staff and the petitioner said they plan to provide updated planting inventories and permit applications to confirm plant density calculations and to track installation in flood‑sensitive areas.

— Ending: The board’s action keeps the campus parking largely intact while moving pedestrian improvements forward on a portion of the site argued to be feasible and of immediate public benefit.