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Board does not decide on adult day-care at 7122 Calumet after abstention; item continued
Summary
The BZA heard public concern about parking and a confusing client-capacity notice for Tamara Stevens’ Graceful Horizons adult day-care. Staff recommended capping occupancy at up to 24 clients and requiring an ADA van stall, but a roll-call vote produced two yeses and one abstention; under quorum rules the item failed to reach the required majority and will return to the next agenda.
The Hammond Board of Zoning Appeals considered a conditional-use petition from Tamara Stevens to operate Graceful Horizons, an adult day‑care, at 7122 Calumet Avenue. Stevens said she holds state licensing that permits up to 25 adults with a 1:8 caregiver ratio and described planned hours of Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., operating primarily as a pick‑up/drop‑off service. Stevens told the board she intends to initially serve about 20 clients and said the Family and Social Services Administration has inspected the unit.
Neighboring business owner Thomas Magano of MJ Polish Deli urged the board to continue the petition until the applicant provided a full parking and traffic plan, citing limited shared parking (eight to ten spaces) and regular peak‑time pressure. Staff located the legal notice (which did not specify a client number) and recommended amending the staff report to cap occupancy at up to 24 adults, require at least one ADA‑van accessible stall on site, and keep licenses current. The board accepted the amended staff report, and a motion to grant the conditional use produced two 'yes' votes and one abstention. Because the full five‑member board must approve such petitions by a majority and an abstention prevented reaching the required three affirmative votes, the petition did not pass and will be placed on the next agenda (no re‑notification required).
The record shows the principal points of contention were parking adequacy during drop‑off/pick‑up windows and the published client number; staff and the applicant proposed modest mitigation (one ADA stall, a five‑space staff allocation) while neighbors sought a fuller traffic/parking plan before final approval.
