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Board approves multiple variances for R & J Properties redevelopment project
Summary
R & J Properties obtained board approval for a set of variances to redevelop the Northern Oaks building: large front-yard and parking reductions and a minor rear-yard variance; the applicant said planning recommended conditional approval given the project’s stormwater detention design.
The Vermilion Board & Commissions on Feb. 24 approved several variances requested by R & J Properties for redevelopment of the Northern Oaks building and adjacent parcels.
Representatives for R & J Properties — identified in the record as "John 3, Raff Ray" (applicant representative) and Raffy Clark — described a multi-tenant plan intended to support small businesses. The planning commission provided conditional approval at its last session, subject to the variances the board considered.
The relief granted included a reduction of the front-yard requirement from 75 feet to 25 feet (a 50-foot variance), a rear-yard adjustment recorded in the motion as 40 feet required with a proposed 32.91 feet (about a 7.09-foot variance), a parking reduction from the code-required 60 spaces to 27 spaces (variance 33 spaces), and a requested waiver of the sidewalk installation requirement. The applicant described underground stormwater detention and said surfacing would be asphalt for cost reasons.
Board members questioned parking counts, long-term uses of the building if it were sold, and whether required sidewalks would be enforced if the municipality later mandated sidewalks in that corridor. The motion included the condition the applicant must comply with sidewalk requirements should they become mandatory for that area.
After discussion and a motion reading the zoning sections and variance details, the board voted and recorded the motion as carried. The approval allows R & J Properties to proceed to permitting consistent with the variances and any conditions imposed by planning or engineering review.
The board noted the sidewalk waiver is commonly treated as a conditional or temporary relief tied to future area-wide sidewalk mandates; the record indicates the applicant should comply with any future mandatory sidewalk ordinance.
