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Clinton County BZA approves apartment legalization, veterinary annex, two rural lots and a fence variance; one variance denied
Summary
At its June meeting the Clinton County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception legalizing two apartments in downtown Rossville, approved a veterinary annex and upstairs extern apartment in Frankfort, allowed two rural lot splits, and granted a fence variance in Colfax; a Kirkland homeowner’s setback variance was denied 4-0.
Clinton County’s Board of Zoning Appeals voted on a string of land-use requests Thursday, approving four applications with conditions and denying one after extended debate.
The board unanimously approved a special exception (CC-2026-00345) to legalize two residential units in an existing downtown Rossville building owned by Kenneth Cree, subject to a county-inspector walk-through and any required state approvals before certificates of occupancy are issued. Staff told the board the structure dates to about 1900 and had an interior remodel in 2009; Rossville Town Council had unanimously recommended approval.
The board also approved two related special exceptions for KDS Properties at 655 S. U.S. 421 in Johnson Township: permission to operate a veterinary hospital and clinic (basement) to perform procedures on show pigs and an upstairs two-bedroom unit intended for externs or interns. Staff’s approval required health-department and animal-control sign-off or waiver, building-code compliance, site landscaping, soundproofing of the facility, and INDOT approval for access changes. The applicant (the owner/operator of Frankfort Animal Hospital) said the annex will let the clinic separate large-animal work from routine small-animal operations and provide short-term housing for externs.
On a rural-subdivision item, BML Properties received approval to split a 22.2-acre A-1 parcel into additional lots that would allow two new residences (application CC-2026-00377). Staff said drainage concerns had been resolved with the Clinton County Drainage Board and that the proposal will move to the plan commission as a three-lot major subdivision for detailed review of roads, lot layout and septic capacity.
In Colfax the board granted a variance to let property owners install a 6-foot privacy fence up to the edge of an undeveloped platted right-of-way (application CC-2026-00406) on the condition the property line be surveyed and marked before installation and that the owners return to the BZA to re-evaluate the variance if the right-of-way is ever developed.
Votes at a glance: the BZA recorded four unanimous approvals (Rossville apartment legalization; KDS veterinary clinic and apartment; BML lot split) and one unanimous approval for the Colfax fence variance. The Kirkland garage variance was the single denial (see separate item).
What happens next: approved projects are subject to required permits, state plan reviews, and final site/plan approvals where noted. Several approvals were conditioned on health-department, INDOT or building-inspector sign-offs, which staff said will be confirmed in the permitting process.
