Commission approves use variance for wedding pavilion and up to five cabins on North Blue Bluff Road with road and drainage conditions

A land-use panel approved a use variance permitting construction of a wedding pavilion and up to five rental cabins on property on North Blue Bluff Road, subject to several stipulations meant to address drainage, access and emergency response.

Applicants Janine and Jeff Martin described plans to start with a waterfront pavilion for small ceremonies and possibly add up to five “luxury in nature” cabins later. “We strictly want this to be a ceremony venue,” Janine Martin told the panel, adding that the intent is short-term rentals and small gatherings rather than a party venue.

Staff and commissioners pressed the applicants on infrastructure. The Martins said city water and sewer would be used and that a lift station would be required. They acknowledged substantial cleanup of the former quarry site would be needed before construction and estimated a build timeframe of “as soon as possible, hopefully within the next year or two.”

Planning staff advised the panel that, if it approved a use variance, stipulations should run with the land. The board added explicit conditions in the motion: the private road from Blue Bluff Road to the property entrance — including the turning radius — must be asphalt; a drain catch basin must be installed where the private road meets Blue Bluff Road; and the number of rental cabins was limited to five. The board also required roadway improvements sufficient for fire-engine access.

A motion to approve the use variance with the listed stipulations was moved, seconded and approved by the panel. The approval was recorded to run with the property and be enforceable through the building and permitting process. The Martins said they had already purchased the property and would proceed to engineering and contractor budgeting once the variance was in place.