Board approves home-occupation special use for basement mortgage-brokerage office with conditions

The Warrick County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special-use permit (SU 12) to allow a low-impact home occupation — a professional mortgage brokerage office located in a 16-by-14 basement space — in a single-family R-1 district.

At the hearing, staff described the property as Lot 16 in the Berkshire subdivision in Ohio Township with no floodplain and access to Brompton Drive. The applicant testified under oath that all work would be performed remotely by phone and internet, that no clients or customers would visit the residence, no employees would work on-site, and no exterior signage or modifications were planned.

A board member (on the record as Mike Maixner) moved that the required findings of fact be made — including that the use is compatible with the land-use plan, will not be a nuisance or hazard, and is appropriate for the site — and proposed approval subject to enumerated conditions: continued compliance with applicable Warrick County zoning ordinances; no identifying or business sign on the property; no retail sales or visibility of the operation from the exterior except for shipment/receipt of items necessary for the home occupation; only residents of the site may be employed; and the special use not be altered or expanded beyond what the board approved.

The motion was seconded and the board voted in favor; the application was granted. The board recorded the standard conditions and reminded the applicant that the special use may not be expanded or altered without further approval.