BZA grants variances for proposed Frankfort-area fire station; partial waiver for perimeter plantings

The Clinton County Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 28 approved multiple variances for a proposed fire station near the new Frankfort annexation line along State Road 28, allowing the project to proceed to subdivision and development-plan review with the modified standards.

Planning staff said the applicant, Envoy Companies, is working under contract with the city of Frankfort to develop the site in the southeast quadrant of West State Road 28 and County Road 600 West. Staff described six independent variance requests and recommended granting full variances for most items and a partial variance for parking-lot perimeter plantings as shown on revised plans.

Staff told the board the six requests were: (1) a reduction in required parking from 45 spaces to 22 because more than half of the on-site paved area is vehicle bays for fire apparatus rather than employee parking; (2) an exemption from the parapet requirement for a flat roof; (3) an exemption from the requirement that refuse enclosures be roofed and match the building facade; (4) a reduction in lighting setbacks and minor light-spill allowance in INDOT right of way; (5) a reduction in foundation-planting bed width and shrub count; and (6) a partial reduction in the number of trees and shrubs required for interior and perimeter parking-lot plantings.

On the parking reduction, staff said adding the additional 23 spaces would increase impervious surface and likely trigger an impervious-surface variance, producing drainage impacts on a physically tight site that already must accommodate drainage infrastructure. On lighting, staff said INDOT's right of way in that location extends farther into the site and the requested spillover was less than 10 feet into the right-of-way; staff recommended the reduction to meet operational and safety needs for emergency-vehicle access.

Staff recommended approving full variances for UDO 308.02 (parking reduction), UDO 403.15(d)(1) (parapet exemption), UDO 403.21(a)(1) (refuse-enclosure modifications), UDO 524 (light pole/setback), UDO 403.16(f) (foundation planting reductions), and granting the requested partial variance under UDO 403.16(g) for parking-lot interior and perimeter plantings as shown on the revised plans.

A motion to approve "according to the findings of the staff report, which are incorporated in the motion by reference with the conditions," including the partial variance for UDO 403.16(g) as drafted, passed on a recorded roll-call vote with all five members voting in favor. Board and staff discussion noted the site will later undergo a one-lot minor subdivision and administrative development-plan review and that some standards were adjusted on the revised landscaping plan to meet the overlay's spirit while accommodating operational needs.

The variances clear a major regulatory step for the project; the applicant must still complete subdivision and development-plan reviews and fulfill any building, stormwater and other permitting requirements before construction.