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Home My WebLink About11-26-18 Zoning and Annexation U t7 w PEACE y� X A g ..i 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK ZONING &ANNEXATION NOVEMBER 26, 2018 5:36 P.M. Committee Members Present: Oliver Davis, John Voorde, Gavin Ferlic, Jo M. Broden Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Karen White, Jake Teshka, Tim Scott, Sharon L. McBride Other Council Absent: Regina Williams-Preston Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Angela Smith, Robert Smith Agenda: Bill No. 18-69- Special Exception: 1320 Miami Street Committee Chair Oliver Davis called to order the Zoning and Annexation Committee Meeting at 5:36 p.m. He introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Bill No. 18-69- Special Exception: 1320 Miami Street Angela Smith, Deputy Director for the Area Plan Commission with offices located on the 11th floor of the County-City Building, stated, Good evening. What we have in front of you is a special exception for 1320 Miami. This is Witches Brew. It came through a couple years ago as a coffee house and then thanks to a recent publication, it was brought to our attention that it has turned into a bar/tavern which requires a special exception in a Mixed-Use District. This comes to you with a favorable recommendation from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals. We had one(1)member from the public in favor and one (1)member from the public in opposition. Councilmember Jake Teshka asked, So this is retroactive? Ms. Smith replied, Not necessarily retroactive, it's just that it was operating not in compliance until recently. Councilmember Tim Scott asked, So it's a bar before the permitting? Ms. Smith replied, He has a liquor license to be a bar, yes. Councilmember Scott followed up, And it's not zoned that way? Ms. Smith replied, It is not zoned for a bar. INTEGRITY SERVICEI ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN PIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember Scott then asked, And how long has that been going on? Ms. Smith replied, We discovered it when the South Bend Tribune ran the article that there would be a grand opening. We worked with Mr. Smith from that point to get to this point. Committeemember Jo M. Broden asked, Could we get more information about the adjacent properties? What are their current zonings and what are the parking specs? Also, are they ADA compliant? Ms. Smith replied,We don't show it on the map here(referencing a slide in the presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office)but the property to the north is zoned Mixed-Use. I believe the property to the south is actually zoned LB.This one(1)is zoned Mixed-Use and then properties behind it are residential. Committeemember Broden followed up, So Broadway, Miami and the one (1) that has the open with the red light with the façade in front (referencing a picture in the presentation), that is what, currently? Ms. Smith replied,This is Local Business, I can't remember but I think it's a staffing agency. This is actually a house although it is zoned Mixed-Use. Our buffers are based on zoning and not use and because that could be anything under the Mixed-Use District, it is not really a residential buffer. The Coffee House did come through the Area Board of Zoning Appeals some time back a couple years ago to get variances to allow for parking in the back. Now under the new ordinance, Mixed-Use doesn't even require parking. At that time, they were also adjusting accessibility to meet the ADA Compliance. They converted this home to the coffee house. Committeemember Broden then asked, So going back to earlier petitions, the pavement with the parking, is this being met already? Ms. Smith replied, The site is up to Code now in terms of whether it is a restaurant or a bar, it doesn't matter. It meets all the development standards. They've done everything they've needed to do to develop it into a coffee house, it is just the difference between a coffee house and a bar. Robert Smith, 1320 Miami Street, stated, I'm the owner of Witches Brew. Councilmember Scott asked, How long have you been a bar? Mr. Smith replied, We started as a coffee shop and we had the bar in the one (1) room. That was in the site plan from the very beginning. We are able to, as a coffee shop, to have beer and wine. That is just like the South Bend Chocolate Factory and many other places. We've morphed more into a bar because the coffee sales weren't that great and so I kind of wanted to diversify and have different incomes. We did start selling more beer and wine. And actually if you look at the sign, back in July we put 'Pub' underneath it to try and increase sales. So, it is a little of both. One (1) room at the top here(referencing a slide in the presentation)is the bar which only has six(6) seats. Committeemember Gavin Ferlic left the meeting at 5:41 p.m. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Mr. Smith continued, So we were kind of both at one (1) time but we serve a lot of champagne drinks. That is the kind of clientele we get there. During the spring of 2017 we got the parking variances and the other variances for the enclosed dumpster,the parking lot paving,the ADA ramp and the ADA bathrooms. That was a huge deal because the stairway had to move all the way back from the basement. So we started being more of a bar in July because that is when we changed the sign. Councilmember Scott followed up, And are there any plans from live music, karaoke, Oliver's night out at the bar? Anything like that? Mr. Smith replied, A lot of ladies like to come dressed as witches. It is a themed bar, obviously, and they like to dress up. A lot of people like it. It is a unique place. We don't have draft beer. There is no room for a band. Ms. Smith interjected, There is nothing in the current ordinance that would prohibit them from having a band. That is new to the ordinance, actually. Councilmember Karen White asked, What is your capacity? Mr. Smith replied, We have seating for twenty-eight(28)people. Councilmember White followed up, Have you received any feedback from the neighbors? Mr. Smith replied,No.Actually the parking,we have a lot of parking.Nipsco doesn't use the street parking so we have that whole stretch in the front and the whole area in the back. Councilmember Scott asked, What are your hours of operation? Mr. Smith replied, 5:00 p.m. to about 11:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Committeemember Broden asked, Could we get the balance of the block? Haven't we normally had the zoning identified of those properties in the past? Ms. Smith replied, When we have a rezoning we identify the zoning but his is merely a special exception. I can do that in the future if that would be helpful for you. Committee Chair Davis then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. There were none. He then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motion. Committeemember John Voorde made a motion to send Bill No. 18-69 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of three (3) ayes. With no further business, Committee Chair Davis adjourned the Zoning and Annexation Committee Meeting at 5:45 p.m. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION ; EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 CITY OFS• _ : . ND OFFICE OF THE CLERK 'Re..- Y ily Su i ri tted, 6, Committee C air EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION , INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building j 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 I I U 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4