11-25-02 Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 25, 2002 will be postponed to the December 9th meeting of the Council and Bill No. 88 -02 will be postponed until the January 13th meeting. Motions dealing with those postponements will follow. BILL NO. 72 -02 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ANNEXING TO AND BRINGING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AND AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR CERTAIN LAND IN PORTAGE TOWNSHIP CONTIGUOUS THEREWITH; RONALD & BEVERLY MATTHYS LLC, AND INDIANA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, 57500 BLOCK OF MAYFLOWER ROAD SOUTH BEND, INDIANA Councilmember King noted that the Council has received a request from the petitioner to postpone this bill until the December 9th meeting of the Council. Therefore, Councilmember Coleman made a motion to continue this bill until December 9, 2002. Councilmember Aranowski seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. BILL NO. 70 -02 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1018 -1020 NORTH SHERMAN STREET, IN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA Councilmember White reported that the Zoning & Annexation Committee held a Public Hearing on this bill and sends it to the Council with a favorable recommendation. Mr. Jeff Myers, Staff Planner, Area Plan Commission, 1805 Hickory Road, South Bend, Indiana, presented the report from the Commission. Mr. Myers advised that the petitioners are requesting a zone change from "A" Residential, "A" Height and Area to `B" Residential, "A" Height and Area to allow a multi - family dwelling unit. The property currently contains a four (4) unit multi - family structure. Located to the north, south and west are single family homes zoned "A" Residential, "A" Height and Area, to the east is vacant land and single family homes zoned "A" Residential, "A" Height and Area. Access to the site is from Sherman Avenue and associated alleys north and east of the site. Water and sewer are available to the site. The drainage has not been addressed by the petitioner. The total site to be rezoned is six thousand four hundred (6,400) square feet. Of that, the buildings will occupy thirty -four per cent (34 %) of the site, parking and drives will occupy thirty -four per cent (34 %) of the site and thirty -two per cent (32 %) of the site will remain as open space. A check of the Agency's maps indicates that no public wells, flood hazards, wetlands or environmental hazard areas are present. The site plan is preliminary. The City Engineer will require paving of the parking area as shown on the site plan. The Area Plan Commission, at its Public Hearing held on October 15, 2002, sent this petition to the Council with an unfavorable recommendation. Although the intent of this petition is to bring the existing use of the property into conformance with the zoning code, it would circumvent the intent of the neighborhood down zoning to "A" Residential which was approved in November of 1976 for a large portion of the Near Northwest neighborhood. The rezoning was initiated by the Common Council on behalf of homeowners of the near northwest neighborhood to restrict future development to single family uses in an effort to upgrade and maintain their neighborhood. Like most area -wide rezonings, some properties which were rezoned became legal non - conforming uses and were grandfathered with the intent that eventually the non - conforming use would be phased out. This particular property was zoned "A" Residential prior to the neighborhood rezoning and remains zoned "A" Residential today. It is the Commission's opinion that this property should remain zoned "A" in U 1 1