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Lebanon board approves setback variance so Tiger Logistics can expand at 640 Ransdell Road
Summary
The Lebanon City Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance allowing Tiger Logistics LLC to expand an existing building at 640 Ransdell Road to remain at a 42-foot front setback instead of meeting the 100-foot requirement in the city's Unified Development Ordinance.
The Lebanon City Board of Zoning Appeals on Feb. 3 approved a development-standards variance permitting Tiger Logistics LLC to expand an existing building at 640 Ransdell Road while retaining a 42-foot front setback rather than meeting the 100-foot front setback required by the city's Unified Development Ordinance.
City planning staff member Ben Bontrager summarized the request, saying the parcel sits between the interstate and Ransdell Road and that the existing building is a legally nonconforming structure because it was built before the current industrial setback standards. “That existing building sits 42 feet from Ransdell, the Ransdell Road right away, so it is a non conforming structure,” Bontrager said, and he told the board the applicant would not increase that nonconformity with the proposed expansion.
The variance request sought relief from the UDO’s 100-foot minimum front-building setback so the owner could expand the primary structure without relocating the existing building. Bontrager said strict application of the UDO would require moving the existing structure about 58 feet farther from the property line, which staff concluded would cause practical difficulties and severely limit use of the site. “We have determined that there is a practical difficulty in the use of this property,” he said.
Paul Nashert of Redemption Engineering, who presented on behalf of the owner, B and R Properties (doing business as Tiger Logistics), told the board the company plans to consolidate operations and move its headquarters from Brownsburg to the Lebanon site. “B and R properties, AKA Tiger Logistics, does love doing business in Lebanon and wants to move their headquarters from Brownsburg into town here,” Nashert said. He added the site is primarily a storage yard and that some higher-end portable-restroom units are stored inside the building.
Board members asked about sanitation and visibility from the interstate. Bontrager said the business is a permitted use in the general industrial district and has operated at the site since 2022. He said the city and property owner have discussed cleaning practices and drainage to ensure wastewater goes to sanitary drains rather than storm drains. “They’re required to wash them such that they go down the drains and that’s a sanitary drain as opposed to in the storm drain,” Bontrager said. He also said a fence and vegetation screen visibility from the interstate.
After discussion, a motion to approve the development-standards variance carried on a unanimous vote by the members present. Board members voting in favor were Chad Keiger, Bruce Polley, Ron Edwards and Laurie Gross.
The meeting also recorded routine procedural actions: approval of the minutes as written and the election of officers (vice chairman Chad Keiker/Keiger and Kelly as secretary; the transcript identifies the person who said “I will be the chairman” but does not supply a full name). The board announced the next meeting for Monday, March 3.
The board’s approval allows the proposed addition to remain at the existing 42-foot setback; it does not authorize any other changes to use, operations, or additional variances. Any future changes beyond the expansion would require separate review under the UDO.
