[Zoning Board of Appeals on September 14, 2023.]
[00:00:08]
OKAY, THIS IS THE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2023.
DECATUR ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE ROLL PLEASE.
EVERYBODY GET A CHANCE TO READ THE MINUTES.
ANY ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS? IF NONE, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES, PLEASE.
SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND IF YOU CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE.
OUR NEW BUSINESS IS CASE NUMBER 23 DASH ZERO FOUR.
PETITION OF CALEB SEX FOR VARIANCE IN THE PROVISIONS OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE.
SECTION TWO TO REDUCE THE REQUIRED MINIMUM FRONT YARD SETBACK FROM 25 FEET TO 10 FEET TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A STORAGE FACILITY AT 300 NORTH MORGAN STREET, 700 BLOCK OF EAST NORTH STREET AND 700 BLOCK OF EAST WILLIAMS STREET.
REPRESENTATIVE ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSIONS.
L L P LAWRENCE LOVEGOOD STAFF WILL PRESENT YOUR FIGHTING OF THE CASE, PLEASE.
THE CURRENT SITE CONTAINS AN OLD DILAPIDATED STRUCTURE THAT WILL BE DEMOLISHED AS A PART OF THE PROPOSED WORK.
THE POTEN, THE PETITIONER PROPOSES CONSTRUCTING A NEW BUILDING FOR THE STORAGE OF THE MAIN WAREHOUSE COMPONENTS FOR ADMS FIRST SPARE PARTS CENTRALIZATION WAREHOUSE IN NORTH AMERICA.
THE PROPOSED, UH, STORAGE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NEW BUILDING WOULD REQUIRE A FOOTPRINT TARGETED AROUND 50,000 SQUARE FEET.
FOR THIS TO BE THE, UH, FEASIBLE TO BUILD, TO TRY AND MEET, UH, THIS TARGETED FOOTPRINT WOULD REQUIRE THE SETBACK TO BE REDUCED, UM, FROM THE ZONING REQUIREMENTS.
WITHOUT THESE REDUCTION, THE CONSTRUCTION IS NOT FEASIBLE.
ACCORDING TO THE CITY OF DECATUR ZONING, UH, ORDINANCE, THEY HAVE TO MEET THREE CONDITIONS, UH, FOR IT TO GET APPROVED.
THE PROPERTY IN QUESTION MEET THE DESIRED FUTURE LAND USE CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
THE VARIANCE, IF GRANTED, WOULD BE IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE INTENT AND ZONING ORDINANCE.
SUBJECT TO THE MEETING MEETING OF THE OTHER TWO STANDARDS, THE SECOND STANDARD REQUIRED THE APPLICANT TO DEMONSTRATE THE EXISTENCE OF PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES AND NON-ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS.
THIS, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING IS NOT FEASIBLE.
UH, WITH THE CURRENT SETBACK, THIS CONDITION CAN BE MET.
THE THIRD STANDARD REQUIRED THE APPLICANT TO SHOW THAT THE VARIANCE, IF GRANTED, WOULD NOT ALTER THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTER OF THE LOCALITY OR HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE SURROUNDING PROPERTY.
GRANTING A VARIANT FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE FRONT YARD SETBACKS WILL NOT ALTER THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTER OF THE LOCALITY AND WILL NOT NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE NEIGHBORING PROPERTY.
MANY OF THE EXISTING BUILDINGS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA HAVE ZERO, UM, FRONT YARD SETBACKS ON THE NORTH, UH, ON EAST NORTH STREET, EAST WILLIAM STREET AND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
THE PROPOSED STORAGE BUILDING WILL BE CONSTRUCTED 10 FEET AWAY FROM THE SOUTH AND WEST OF THE PROPERTY LINE.
THE VARIANCE OF GRANTED SHOULD NOT AFFECT THE ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF AIR, THEREFORE, THE STAFF BELIEVES THAT THE STANDARD CAN BE MET.
STAFF RECOMMEND THAT THE VARIANCE, UM, IS APPROVED ON THE FOLLOWING.
RECOMMENDATION ONE, A DEMOLITION PERMIT IS REQUIRED BEFORE, UH, THE DEMOLITION OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.
AND TWO, A COMMERCIAL SITE PLAN AND BUILDING DRAWING MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW AND THE APPROVAL PRIOR TO THE BUILDING PERMIT BEING ISSUED FOR THE NEW BUILDING.
AND, UM, THERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF THE SITE THAT'S THE BACK OF IT BEHIND THE RAILROAD.
THAT'S THE SIDE OF IT, AND THAT'S HIS FRONT.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? SO ARE YOU GONNA TEAR DOWN BOTH THOSE BUILDINGS? WAIT FOR ON YOUR PICTURES.
[00:05:01]
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? OKAY, PETITIONER? YES.I'M WITH ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSIONS.
DO YOU NEED TO BE, YOU NEED TO BE SWORN IN PLEASE.
DO YOU SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT THE
AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR PROJECT.
UM, I'M AN ARCHITECT WITH ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSIONS.
WE'RE REPRESENTING, UH, A D M IN THE REQUEST ON THE ZONING, UH, VARIANCE.
UH, THE, UH, STAFF REPORT IS VERY ACCURATE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WERE, UH, ASKING TO DO.
UM, THE PROPERTY THAT, AND I'M ASSUMING YOU EVERYONE MAY HAVE RECEIVED A COPY OF OUR 11 BY 17 SP ONE, WHICH GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, GIVES YOU A BETTER, UH, A GOOD FEEL OF WHAT THE, UH, SHAPE OF THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF PROPERTY IS.
UH, IT'S ACTUALLY MADE UP OF, UH, SEVERAL SUB PROPERTIES.
UM, OBVIOUSLY
BUT, UM, THE FACT THAT THIS BUILDING IS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THEIR EXISTING WAREHOUSE, WHICH IS JUST TO THE NORTH, UM, IT MAKES IT A PRACTICAL SOLUTION FOR A D M.
UH, THE SETBACKS ARE, WE'RE CONCERNING AT THIS POINT.
WE ARE TRYING TO MAXIMIZE THIS, UH, PROPERTY FOR, UH, WAREHOUSE.
UH, THE FACT THAT THE SHAPE OF THE BUILDING ITSELF IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE LESS EFFICIENT THAN WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO.
UH, BUT WE FELT WITH, UH, IF WE COULD JUST, UH, UH, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE A SETBACK, JUST MAYBE LESS THAN WHAT, UH, THE 25 FEET REQUIREMENT IS, UH, CURRENTLY IN THE CODE.
UM, THAT THIS, UM, THIS APPROACH WILL WORK FOR A D M.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE PETITIONER? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
YOU GONNA TEAR DOWN BOTH THOSE BUILDINGS? YES.
AND, AND JUST AN OBSERVATION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING.
UM, SO IT'S GONNA BE THE FIRST SPARE PARTS CENTRALIZATION WAREHOUSE IN NORTH AMERICA.
UM, UM, I'M SURE CALEB CAN ELABORATE ON THAT.
DOES THAT, DOES THAT MEAN THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF TRUCK TRAFFIC THROUGH THERE? UH, MY UNDERSTANDING, OUR UNDERSTANDING IS NO.
THEY'RE, UM, THEY'LL RECEIVE PRODUCT IN ANOTHER AREA.
THEY HAVE, THEIR WAREHOUSE IS JUST TO THE NORTH.
UH, THE PRODUCT WILL BE TRANSFERRED BACK AND FORTH VIA FORKLIFT LIFT AND, AND, UH, OKAY.
SMALL TRUCK FORKLIFT IS INTERESTING TOO.
'CAUSE THOSE LOOK LIKE SOME OF THE ORIGINAL STREETS IN DECATUR THERE.
THEY'RE ALL BRICK AND COLLARED.
THAT'S GONNA BE FUN DRIVING A FORK TRUCK ON THOSE WITH A LOAD.
I SUPPOSE THE CITY'S GOT PLANS TO HELP ALLEVIATE THAT PROBLEM.
UH, CALEB TAKES CARE OF LOGISTICS TOO.
GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DECISION.
I'M HAP HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
SO, SO WERE YOU EXPECTING A GAIN BY 10 15 FEET? THEY, THEY HAVE A TARGET SQUARE FOOTAGE THAT THEY'RE AFTER.
UM, THIS, UM, UH, AG AGAIN, THE SHAPE OF THIS BUILDING ISN'T THE MOST EFFICIENT.
SO, UM, TAKING 15 MORE FEET AROUND THIS BUILDING ON AT LEAST THREE SIDES, UH, WAS GONNA BE PROBLEMATIC IN TERMS OF MEETING THEIR GOAL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE PETITIONER? NO.
ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO SPEAK IN REGARDS TO THIS EITHER PRO OR AGAINST? NO.
THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, I GUESS MAYBE FOR STAFF, IF, UM, BILL BUILDING ON HIS QUESTION ARE, ARE THEY PLANNING ON DOING ANYTHING WITH THE STREETS, DO YOU KNOW? NOT THAT I KNOW OF.
I KNOW, UH, THIS WAS BROUGHT TO TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE, WHICH, UH, IS STAFF OF ENGINEERING AND PLANNING AND BUILDING.
AND I DON'T, THAT WASN'T DISCUSSED AT ALL AND WASN'T DISCUSSED.
UM, MIGHT BE A BETTER QUESTION FOR CALEB IF HE HAS ANY CONCERNS WITH THAT.
CALEB, IF YOU'D LIKE TO STEP UP, YOU NEED TO BE SWORN IN ALSO PLEASE.
DO YOU SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM BEST YOUR I DO.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION PLEASE? I THINK THEY'RE ASKING ABOUT THE BRICK STREETS AND CONCERN ABOUT,
[00:10:01]
OKAY.SO THE, THE CENTRALIZED WAREHOUSE, I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN OR YOU CAN REFER TO THE PICTURE THAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO THE BUILDING TO THE NORTH, THE FORER FORMER META PHARMACEUTICALS, UH, THAT'S OUR CURRENT LOCATION FOR A D M.
UH, SO THAT HAS ABOUT A 65,000 SQUARE FOOT WAREHOUSE WITHIN IT.
LEMME KNOW WHICH PICTURE YOU WANT.
UH, WELL ACTUALLY PROBABLY THIS WILL BE THE BEST FOR YOU.
I'M SORRY THAT THAT'LL PROBABLY BE THE BEST THERE.
BUT, UM, THAT BUILDING TO THE NORTH STAR EXISTING WAREHOUSE STRUCTURE, UM, WE'RE PROPOSING THIS 50,000 SQUARE FOOT JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THAT.
THE STRUCTURE TO THE NORTH IS THE ONE THAT CURRENTLY HAS THE DOCK DOORS TODAY.
WE WOULD ANTICIPATE INCREASING SOME TRUCK TRAFFIC INTO THAT AREA TO SOME EXTENT, AS TODAY IT'S AT ZERO.
UM, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE SOMEWHERE IN REGARDS TO, I WOULD ANTICIPATE ABOUT 10 TRUCKS PER DAY, UH, AT VARIOUS TIMES COMING THROUGH THERE.
UM, IT WILL SERVE AS NORTH AMERICA'S FIRST CENTRALIZED WAREHOUSE.
SO BASICALLY THE CONCEPT WITHIN THE DECATUR COMPLEX IS THAT WE HAVE SPARE PARTS WITHIN EACH ONE OF OUR OPERATING, UH, FACILITIES TODAY.
UM, THOSE WOULD BE LOCATED FROM THE LARGER SPARE PART COMPONENTS.
SO OUR SLOWER, MEDIUM MOVING ASSETS SUCH AS MAYBE MOTORS, GEAR BOXES, ET CETERA, WOULD BE RELOCATED TO THIS DOWNTOWN FACILITY WHERE WE COULD THEN OPTIMIZE OUR FOOTPRINT FOR A D M.
UM, INSTEAD OF HAVING MULTIPLE PARTS AT INDIVIDUAL SITES, WE COULD REDUCE THAT FOOTPRINT OVERALL.
SO DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CALEB? NO.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UH, ITEM NUMBER FOUR, APPEARANCE OF CITIZENS POLICY RELATIVE TO APPEARANCE OF CITIZENS.
A 15 MINUTE TIME PERIOD IS PROVIDED FOR CITIZENS TO APPEAR AND EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS BEFORE THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEMBERS.
EACH CITIZEN WHO APPEARS WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES.
NO IMMEDIATE RESPONSE WILL BE GIVEN BY THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEAL MEMBERS OR STAFF MEMBERS.
IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT? SEEING NONE ARE IS THERE ANY OTHER INFORMATION WE NEED TO KNOW FOR TONIGHT? NO.
ANY COMMENTS OR INFORMATION FROM THE COMMISSION? ME MEMBERS? NO.
I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION REGARDING THE TWO, UH, CASES THAT WE HAD THAT WE HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME MEETING, UM, BECAUSE WE HAD A LACK OF OF COMMISSIONERS.
CAN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED WITH THOSE TWO? I CAN PROBABLY BEST ANSWER THAT.
UM, THE CODE AS WELL AS STATE LAW ALLOWS FOR IF, UM, OUR ZONING BOARD IS UNABLE TO MEET.
UM, AND A HEARING OFFICER CAN BE APPOINTED TO HEAR THOSE MATTERS, UM, AS LONG AS NOTIFICATION IS MADE.
UM, SO WE DID MAKE NOTICE, UM, DID POST NOTICE AND THEN HAD HELD THE HEARINGS THAT WAY.
THROUGH AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING OFFICER? YEAH.
WERE THEY, CAN WE ASK IF THEY WERE BOTH APPROVED OR NOT? ALL THREE WERE, THERE WERE THREE CASES.
UM, WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
I WAS SLEEPING ABOUT AROUND IT.