The Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve a land-use variance (case VA-24-24) allowing an institutional use — a school — at 12115 Visionary Way, subject to conditions placed on traffic circulation, phased occupancy and operations planning.

Kevin Martin of the city planning department described the 8.2-acre site, which is improved with an approximately 80,000-square-foot office building zoned PC (technology center) in the Nickel Plate district. Martin said the Interstate 69 overlay district generally prohibits institutional or tax-exempt uses; the petitioner requested a land-use variance to establish a school use and to adaptively reuse the existing building.

Martin and the city's engineering staff described a phased plan for consolidated Aman School operations with a traffic circulation plan designed to limit left-turn conflicts: drop-off and pick-up would be staged to route vehicles to permit primarily right turns into and out of Technology Drive, and an alternate circulation pattern would provide stacking capacity (from about 30 cars up to 100) if needed. Staff told the board the applicant had worked closely with planning and engineering and that certain conditions allow the city to require additional traffic-control measures, including on-site police direction if unforeseen conflicts arise.

Mindy Westrick Brown, land-use counsel for the petitioner, said the proposal represents roughly a $2,000,000 investment in Fishers and that the petitioner agreed to staff conditions 1 through 6 and to the traffic-related condition 7 provided to the applicant the week of the hearing. She said the petitioner had submitted an operations plan, with school start and dismissal times described under tab 6 of the submittal package, and that interior construction was scheduled to begin so the school could open in August (building-permit work would begin in January).

Board member Mister Silvey moved to approve the petition subject to staff-recommended conditions 1 through 7; the motion was seconded and the board recorded yes votes. Roll call recorded Mister Silvey yes, Mister Stevenson yes and Mister Ferrucci yes; the motion passed.

Conditions recorded on the staff presentation emphasize phased occupancy, an agreed traffic circulation pattern that routes drop-off and pick-up to minimize left-turn conflicts, landscape and site circulation responses for later phases, and the city's right to require additional measures should traffic issues arise. Staff also recommended the approval letter and related documentation be recorded with the Hamilton County Recorder.

Votes at a glance: VA-24-24—approved (subject to staff conditions 17).