Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board grants small lot-coverage variance for proposed Luvs truck stop at US 30/Business 30
Summary
The board granted a developmental-standards variance of about 4.7% to allow approximately 69.7% impervious coverage for a proposed Luvs truck stop on roughly 6.414 net acres at the US 30/Business 30 intersection, citing right-of-way dedication as the primary technical cause of the variance.
The Whitley County Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance to the site plan for a proposed Luvs truck-stop development at the southwest corner of US 30 and Business 30.
Staff presented calculations showing the proposed site plan would result in roughly 4.468 acres of impervious surface on a net lot area of 6.414 acres, producing a lot coverage of about 69.7% where the IPM (Industrial Park/Manufacturing) zoning district limit is 65% — a variance request of about 4.7 percent. Staff explained that the need for the hearing stems largely from required right-of-way dedication for Business 30 (roughly 0.8 acre) that reduces the net acreage and increases the coverage percentage; using gross acreage including the right-of-way would reduce coverage to about 61.8%.
The petitioner representative, Steve Walters, said the development team had trimmed impervious surface from earlier plans (removing a drive-through and reducing truck parking) and optimized turning radii and parking layouts to minimize coverage while retaining practical truck circulation. “We'9ve tweaked our site plan quite a bit ... we'9re down to roughly 69%,” he said, adding that engineers will ensure drainage doesn’t negatively impact neighboring properties.
Nearby resident Linda Shambarke Murray and others told the board they were concerned about additional traffic and safety at the intersection, noting recent accidents at that location and asking whether approved site-plan changes could be made later without returning for additional approvals. Staff replied that the application before the board was only for lot coverage variance and that site-plan engineering and any future material changes could be subject to review or conditions.
A motion to approve 26 W variance 2 was made and the board voted to grant the variance. The record does not specify a roll-call tally in the transcript for that motion; the board discussion indicated support after neighbors and staff discussed mitigation and longer-term NDOT improvements to the corridor.
