St. Joseph County BZA denies Oak Road frontage variance after neighbors cite flooding, vehicle storage

The St. Joseph County Area Board of Zoning Appeals denied a variance request for a proposed two-lot subdivision on Oak Road on Sept. 10, 2025, after residents raised concerns about flooding, unpermitted vehicle storage and emergency access.

Area Plan Commission staff presented the petition (No. 156805), describing the site as a residential lot in Portage Township consisting of two parcels: a 0.94-acre parcel with an existing home and a vacant 0.35-acre parcel the owner proposed to make into a second buildable lot. Fariel Sharif, area plan staff, told the board the proposal would create a Lot 2 with just 23 feet of frontage and would require legalization of a reduced lot width for the existing parcel. Sharif said staff recommended denial, citing concerns that the reduced frontage “may result in emergency responses having difficulty locating and accessing the property” and that contiguous parcels could instead be combined as other properties in the area are.

Terry Lang, attorney for the petitioner, said the parcels predate the county zoning ordinance and that similar configurations have been authorized in other local cases. Lang said soil borings showed the site could support a conventional septic system and that both new lots would meet required lot-area standards; the only relief requested was for frontage.

Neighbors spoke in opposition during the public hearing. Mike Lintage, who said he lives at 56825 Oak Road, told the board the low-lying yard “fills with water” and that snow pushed from neighboring properties has already caused basement flooding. He said a turnaround area on the rear parcel was soft and “I couldn't see a fire truck going down there and being stuck in there trying to put out a fire.”

Other neighbors cited vehicle storage and nuisance activity at the property. Brian Brennan, who said he had experience in the car business, told the board he believes many vehicles on the lot are repossessions and raised groundwater contamination concerns from leaking fluids. Several speakers said they counted dozens of cars on the parcel and that occupants did not live full-time in the house.

Board members discussed safety and the unusual lot configuration in the neighborhood. A motion to deny the variance as requested was made and seconded; the board voted 6-1 to deny. The board directed staff to issue written findings of fact.

Action details: the board denied the variance request; written findings will be issued.

The denial leaves the property as currently configured; neighbors and the petitioner were advised of code-enforcement avenues for business-like vehicle storage complaints and of options to combine parcels if the owner seeks a different outcome.

Notes: The petition was identified in the public record as Petition 156805 and is in a single-family zoning district in unincorporated St. Joseph County. The board said it will issue written findings explaining its decision.