BZA allows industrial building to encroach over rail to enable rail loading

The City Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance allowing a new industrial building bay to encroach to the railway right‑of‑way so the company may use an overhead crane to load product directly onto rail cars.

Staff explained the requested variance reduces the interior side setback in an IH zoning district from 15 feet to 0 feet to permit the building to span over existing rail infrastructure. Applicant Don Schwab said the work will support a galvanizing process at the company's steel mill and that previous buildings at the site included a runway over the tracks. Schwab said the applicant had obtained a letter from the railroad authorizing the encroachment.

Board members asked whether neighboring parcels would be affected and whether other zoning options existed. Staff and the applicant said the surrounding parcels are part of the applicant’s facility and that rail access is critical to the operation. A motion to approve the variance carried.

The approval permits the building design to include a rail‑loading bay over the tracks, subject to any conditions the railroad letter or building‑permit process may require.