12-09-02 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2002 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, AN INDIANA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, 57500 BLOCK OF MAYFLOWER ROAD, SOUTH BEND, INDIANA Councilmember Coleman made a motion to postpone this bill until the January 27, 2003 meeting of the Council at the request of the petitioner. Councilmember Kelly seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. BILL NO. 44 -02 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 115 INDIANA AVENUE 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 an unfavorable recommendation. This recommendation is based on the fact that rezoning this property industrial would have a serious negative impact on the residential area that the City has been working hard to bring up to its current status. 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 `B" Residential, "A" Height and Area to "D" Light Industrial, "A" Height and Area to allow a storage building. The property is currently used for parking. Located to the north are single family homes zoned `B" Residential, "A" Height and Area and a commercial business zoned "C" Commercial, "E" Height and Area; to the east are single family homes and a church zoned `B" Residential, "A" Height and Area; to the south are single family homes zoned `B" Residential, "A" Height and Area and a commercial business and a multi - family dwelling unit zoned "C' Commercial, `B" Height and Area; and to the west is a commercial business and a multi - family dwelling unit zoned "C" Commercial, "E" Height and Area. Mr. Myers also advised that the proposed access to the site is from the north/south alley west of the site. Water and sewer are available to the site. The drainage has been addressed by the petitioner. The total site to be rezoned is seven thousand seventy -six (7,076) square feet. Of that, the buildings will occupy thirty -one per cent (31 %) of the site, parking and drives will occupy forty -four per cent (44 %) of the site and twenty -five per cent (25 %) of the site will remain as open space. A check of the Agency's maps indicates that no public wells, flood hazards, or wetlands are present. However, a confirmed contamination site is located approximately 3/4 of a mile east of the site. The site plan is preliminary. The City Engineering Department has commented that due to the revisions that were made to the site plan their previous concerns with access and drainage have been resolved. The Area Plan Commission, at its Public Hearing held on September 17, 2002, sent this petition to the Council with an unfavorable recommendation. Introducing industrial zoning at this location would be an intrusion into the residentially zoned and used areas to the north, east and south. The City and the neighborhood residents have made substantial improvements to the Southeast Neighborhood. Rezoning this property industrial would have a serious negative impact on the fragile residential area. Currently, the commercial uses in the area are oriented toward South Michigan, not on residential streets. Furthermore, the petitioner has two (2) other grocery store -3-