02-26-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING February 26, 2018 PUBLIC HEARINGS BILL NO. 04-18 PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND SEEKING A SPECIAL EXCEPTION FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2104, 2108,AND 2112 E MISHAWAKA AVENUE, AND 914 AND 918 S 21 st STREET, COUNCILMANIC DISTRICT NO. 3 IN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA Councilmember Oliver Davis, Chair of the Zoning and Annexation Committee,reported that they met this afternoon and send this bill forward with a favorable recommendation. Angela Smith, Deputy Director of the Area Plan Commission with offices on the 11th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, served as presenter for this bill. Ms. Smith stated, The petition before you is for the proposed Fire Station on Mishawaka Avenue. It acquired several properties in the area. The ones along Mishawaka Avenue were currently zoned MU, Mixed-Use District, but there were some properties zoned SF-2, Single-Family and Two (2)-Family. In order to look at the project as a cohesive event,they brought the whole thing into a rezone to MU,Mixed- Use District, and are seeking the special exception approval for the Fire Station. The site has currently been cleared and it is a vacant site right now. I will let the petitioner speak a bit more about the site plan for the Fire Station but,in general,it meets the requirements of the MU,Mixed- Use District,the one(1)recently adopted by the Council.There were a couple variations.Primarily to move the building a little bit south so there was enough room for the trucks to exit safely onto Mishawaka Avenue with a clear sight area. This comes to you from the Area Plan Commission with a favorable recommendation. Rezoning the sight to MU, Mixed-Use, will allow a consistent zoning district for a harmonious development of the site. Approval of the special exception use for the Fire Station will allow the City to improve its public safety services to the community. Todd Skwarcan, Assistant Fire Chief for the South Bend Fire Department with offices located at 1222 S. Michigan Street, South Bend, IN, served as the petitioner for this bill. Asst. Chief Skwarcan stated, Thank you, Council, for your continued support of this project. As many of you know, it has been a long time coming. It has been a hard-fought and well-fought collaborative process. We've had many partners in the City and we thank all of them. We are opening bids tomorrow at the Board of Public Works meeting. As has been discussed, a couple main goals of the building were to provide modern facilities for our firefighters. Our current station on the Avenue was built in 1926 and is not suitable for a mixed gender workforce not to mention its ability to house modern fire-fighting apparatus. It only had a single bay so it lacked the ability for us to put other equipment in that facility. With this new structure we will be able to house Engine Nine (9), an ambulance and our boat truck. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, Could you talk about the issue regarding the neighbor and how you worked out that situation?And secondly, would there be any room there for training? Asst. Chief Skwarcan replied, Immediately to the south of the site,there is a neighbor that wanted to stay in their home. Chief Cox has met personally with that property owner and the neighbor had a couple requests of the City. One (1) being the removal of a tree that was on the southeast of the property and the other was the addition of a white vinyl fence. We are fine with those two (2) concerns and we worked well with that neighbor. We are looking at training purposes. This may be a river rescue house. Councilmember Oliver Davis then asked, Can this station serve just the Third District, or does it serve everyone? Asst. Chief Skwarcan replied, It serves everyone. Station Nine (9) is a very important station due to its proximity to many different places. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. 5