Board of Zoning Appeals issues mixed rulings on eight variances, denies Saint Pius sign request

The St. Joseph County Area Board of Zoning Appeals took up eight petitions on Aug. 14, 2024, issuing written findings or forwarding a recommendation to the County Council where required.

The board approved a 6‑acre lot split at 31031 Underwood Road, granting the requested lot‑area variance 4–3 after the first motion to deny failed and a second motion to approve prevailed. Fariel Sharif, area plan commission staff, had urged denial on the grounds that the county's agricultural minimum lot standards protect farmland and that the application did not show a unique hardship. The petitioner, Alan Walbert, said much of the 50.6‑acre parcel is wooded and that the proposed 7‑acre buildable lot would avoid a larger loss of farmland if annexation were pursued instead.

Saint Pius Church in Granger asked the board for three sign variances along State Road 23 — a monument sign sized at 138 square feet where 64 is allowed, a height of 15 feet 5 inches where 8 feet is permitted, and a second sign on the same frontage. Carl Brown Grimm, APC staff, recommended denial, noting a prior variance two years earlier and questioning the practical difficulty the church described. Anthony Pericini, representing Saint Pius, and Monsignor Michael Hines said the church is growing and that the sign would improve safety and wayfinding. Councilman Dan Chantsel and two parishioners urged flexibility,…