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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBill 16-51 Petition for special exception Gates ToyotaAREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 125 S. Lafayette Blvd. Suite 100 South Bend, Indiana 46601 (574)235 -9554 FAX: (574)235 -5541 June 2, 2016 The Honorable Common Council South Bend Of the City of South Bend 4th Floor, County -City Building South Bend, Indiana 46601 RE: Petition for Special Exception Gates Toyota 06/01/2016 Dear Council Members: The above referenced petition of Gates Toyota was legally advertised on May 12, 2016. The Area Board of Zoning Appeals gave it apublic.hearing on June 1, 2016, at which time the following actionwastaken: Upon a motion by Mr. Phipps, being seconded by Mr. Hawley and by a unanimous vote, the petition for Special Exception to allow for automobile sales in a "CB" District on property located at 700 W. Ireland Road, is sent to the Common Council with a Favorable Recommendation. The deliberations of the Area Board of Zoning Appeals and points considered in arriving at the above decision as shown in the Minutes of the Public Hearing, and will be forwarded to you at a later date, to be made part of this report. Sincerel , Charles C. Bulot, C.B.O. Building Commissioner CCB/cah Filed in Clerk's Office JUN 0 8 2016 KAREEMAH FOWLER CITY CLERK, SOUTH BEND, IN PETITION OF GATES TOYOTA SPECIAL USE AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS FINDINGS OF FACT 1. THE PROPOSED SPECIAL USE WILL NOT BE INJURIOUS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, COMFORT, COMMUNITY MORAL STANDARDS, CONVENIENCE OR GENERAL WLFAFE BECAUSE: Development and use as presented will comply with all building, fire safety, traffic, and parking regulations as to not being injurious to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community. 2. THE PROPOSED SPECIAL USE WILL NOT INJURE OR ADVERSELY AFFECT THE USE OF THE ADJACENT AREA OR PROPERTY VALUES THEREIN BECAUSE: The variance or use shall improve the appearance of the neighborhood and will not devalue the surrounding properties. 3. THE PROPOSED SPECIAL USE WILL BE CONSISTENT WITH THE CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT IN WHICH IT IS LOCATED AND THE LAND USES AUTHORIZED THEREIN BECAUSE: Conditions on the property predate the Zoning Ordinance, which creates a different condition for this property. 4. THE PROPOSED SPECIAL USE IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ST. JOSEPH COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN BECAUSE: It is the feeling of the Board that the variance is blending into the overall Comprehensive Plan and is not deviating from its intent. CONDITIONS or REVISIONS: DECISION IT IS THEREFORE the decision of this Board that this request for SPECIAL USE shall be passed onto the City of South Bend Common Council with a: FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION ADOPTED this 151 Day of JUNE, 2016. YES NO ABSENT MICHAEL URBANSKI M GERALD PHIPPS ABSENT RANDALL MATTHYS IR BRENDAN CRUMLISH ❑X KATHY SCHUTH FX-1 JACK YOUNG D ROBERT HAWLEY Filed in Clerk's 0-F: JUN 08 2016 � KAREEMAH FOWLER CITY CLERK, SOUTH REND, IN RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPROVING A PETITION OF THE AREA BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT Ar__nd Road v0 Zi vd1Af . lli�lI II I RNVOU WHEREAS, Indiana Code Section 36 -7 -4- 918.6, requires the Common Council to give notice pursuant to Indiana Code Section 5- 14- 1.5 -5, of its intention to consider Petitions from the Board of Zoning Appeals for approval or disapproval; and WHEREAS, the Common Council must take action within sixty (60) days after the Board of Zoning Appeals makes its recommendation to the Council; and WHEREAS, the Common Council is required to make a determination in writing on such requests pursuant to Indiana Code Section 36 -7 -4- 918.4, and WHEREAS, the Area Board of Zoning Appeals has made a recommendation, pursuant to applicable state law. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE Cj-VA7 AT QnTTTTT ,�T,,�TT\ TATTT ,.T 1.11 1 1 -. S0V 111 BE L, IikTDIA A us 1V111/w J. SECTION I. The Common Council has provided notice of the hearing on the Petition from the Area Board of Zoning Appeals pursuant to Indiana Code Section 5- 14- 1.5 -5, requesting that a Special Exception be granted for the property located at: 700 W. Ireland Road in order to permit automobile sales in a "CB" District SECTION H. Following a presentation by the Petitioner, and after proper public hearing, the Common Council hereby approves the petition of the Area Board of Zoning Appeals, a copy of which is un iiie in the Oiflee of the City Cierk. SECTION M. The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, hereby finds that: 1. The proposed use will not be injurious to the public health, safety, comfort, community moral standards, convenience or general welfare; 2. The proposed use will not injure or adversely affect the use of the adjacent area. or property values therein; 3. The proposed use will be consistent with the character of the district in which it is located and the land uses authorized therein; 4. The proposed use is compatible with the recommendations of the City of South Bend Comprehensive plan; SECTION IV. Approval is subject to the Petitioner complying with the reasonable conditions established by the Area Board of Zoning Appeals which are on file in the office of the City Clerk. SECTION V. The Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Member of the Common Council LFkS()ffiCe r' 2016 Nc�T �wtov�t ECIM.ER ADOPTID TH BEND, IN 5/9/2016 My name is Clint Emberton, General Sales Manager for Gates Automotive. I reside at 714 Dice Ct., South Bend, IN 46614. I submit Resolution , Special Exception request to hold annual offsite automobile sales events in the Walmart parking lot located at 700 W. Ireland Rd. I submit this petition on behalf of Gates Toyota, 640 W. Ireland Rd., South Bend, IN 46614 and VPA Promotions, a subsidiary of Walmart Corporation. Contact information including phone numbers, email addresses, and mailing addresses for the appropriate parties will be included at the end of this petition. In this appeal Gates Automotive is requesting a Special Exception request for the parking lot located at 700 W. Ireland Rd., also known as Walmart. The area we are requesting is 100 parking spaces that are located at the outmost boundary to the East, to the main entrance to Walmart to the North, and encompassing 4 rows of parking each including 25 spaces. We have sought and received permission from VPA Promotions to hold three events annually, during the summer months, subject to zoning approval. We enjoy an excellent business relationship with our neighbor, Walmart, and with VPA Promotions General Manager Mike Kauffman. Included with this request are Authorization /Commitment letters for the dates requested from VPA Promotions. Gates Toyota recognizes the need to satisfy the four specific findings of fact for this Special Exceptions request to be considered and granted. Gates Toyota is grateful for the opportunity to present a petition request to the Area Board of Zoning Appeals with a brief point of view supporting our request. (First finding of fact) 1) The proposed use will not be injurious to the public health, safety, comfort, community moral standards, convenience or general welfare; The activity that is sanctioned by Gates poses no threat to the first finding of fact. I would like to share some general data that is relevant to this argument. There are many standard event enforcements that Gates uses as common practice. We provide trash receptacles in the general customer area every 50 feet that undergo sanitary service as needed daily; we provide more than adequate handicap accessible restroom stations and doubled the access to sanitary hand washing solutions. These facilities are professionally over - serviced three times during each week; We adhere to the required setbacks according to universal code and staff recommendations; we have provided a site plan prior to approval that specifically outlines our request. We contract framed tents locally that provide appropriate shade and a comfortable and private business climate for our customers and staff, we coordinate our vehicle move via organized transportation beginning at 6 am on Sunday mornings pre -event and post event. The entire event process is designed to avoid disruption of traffic flow in the City and around the event location. We believe there are no moral issues, it is simply a car sale promoted and executed to the high standards that the Board of Zoning, South Bend Common Council, VPA Promotions, Walmart, and Gates require for an event of this magnitude. As I am sure you are aware, Gates has held events in the City of Mishawaka of similar magnitude for the last 6 years. They require 400 spaces to accommodate those events. A Staff report prepared by City of Mishawaka, shared the following finding of fact. "No problems or issues were found, specifically, no traffic, public parking, or even nuisance issues were ever brought to the City's attention." The 2016 Staff report indicates "No issues have been reported with previous events ". I am aware of no compelling complaints or issues from the impact of these precisely planned events. Furthermore, no protest or concerns were filed with Simon Properties, the City of Mishawaka or our office on behalf of the general public or tenants. This is a record we are proud of having held over fifteen of these events. So.... Will the proposed use be injurious to the public health, safety, comfort, community moral standards, convenience or general welfare? We are aware of no evidence or convincing foundation to support anything but a No response!! (Second finding of fact) 2) The proposed use will not injure or adversely affect the use of the adjacent area or property values therein; Defined, adjacent properties is; "all business or residence owners within 300 feet of the requested variance': Following proper City of South Bend protocol, Gates Toyota has hand addressed and stamped the appropriate envelopes which the City in turn mailed to relevant property owners giving proper notice of the variance hearing. Gates Toyota has held several previous events at our location over the past few years. We have included Walmart, Lowes, Sweet Frog, McDonalds, Chik- fil -a, and others in this event through revenue generating involvement. Gates has already committed a staggering marketing budget to these events which will include and promote local businesses in conjunction with our own event. We believe that the holding of sales events in many surrounding previous locations did nothing to decrease the value of these properties. On the contrary, these events may have convinced someone that these were viable retail locations. Consequently, commerce grew and revenues flow into local businesses and our Community. Primarily, Gates Toyota and the display lot at 640 W. Ireland Rd. will be the main focus of our event. Any additional traffic to areas not currently traveled will have little or no impact. Walmart and Gates Toyota began a mutual business partnership several years ago. At that time we took some intrinsic risk and we ask the Area Board of Zoning Appeals to allow us to grow in a proportion that accounts for about a 15% expansion of the current event. This is simply an effective business plan, supported by significant effort that continues to work. Furthermore, the events we stage bring revenue to boundaries far beyond Gates. We respect these businesses and believe they are every bit as important to a vibrant South Bend economy as ours. Gates Toyota will drive in excess of 3000 families to these events in 2016. These customers come from counties outside of our immediate area and they spend there money on more than just cars and trucks. So to answer question 2, Will the proposed use injure or adversely affect the use of the adjacent area or property values therein; We believe our event will have a positive effect on surrounding businesses and the answer to this finding of fact should be NO!! (Third finding of fact) 3) The proposed use will be consistent with the character of the district in which it is located and the land use authorized therein. "CB "zoning does not permit the retail sales of automobiles at this location, thus requiring the Special Exception request for the proposed use. At previous events held in neighboring Mishawaka, Mr. Ginty, University Park Mall General Manager said the following, and I quote, "The car sales not only benefit Gates, but they are a huge traffic driver for the Mall and surrounding businesses on Grape Road " It is my duty to advocate for this event. Since our inception in South Bend in 1982, Gates Toyota has partnered with many fine businesses for a mutually beneficial event such as this. The current zoning prohibits Gates Toyota from setting up an attractive display that guarantees exceptional results for Walmart and Gates alike. We can not, however, display or sell cars on Walmart property with out an approved Special Exception by the Board of Zoning and the Common Council. To attempt to have this sale without a variance would be impossible without violating City laws or zoning ordinances. So, in regards to question of fact #3, Will the proposed use be consistent with the character of the district in which it is located and the land use authorized therein. We believe that the answer is YESH! (The fourth finding of fact is as follows) 4) The proposed use is compatible with the recommendations of the City of South Bend Comprehensive Plan; Beginning in 2009, Gates Toyota knew that in order for this to become an annual event we would need to follow strict guidelines regarding layout, trash disposal, safety, parking, signage display, tents, cold air balloons, setbacks, and many other request that go along with an event such as this. An ideal location must have adequate entrances and exits for normal unimpeded traffic flow. There should be ample parking for inventory, employees, vendors, and customers. Walmart and Gates has and will comply in all areas overseen by South Bend authority and have taken precautions in areas that are not governed. The Special Exceptions request is for Walmart, VPA Promotions, and Gates Toyota. Gates considers it a privilege not a right to partner with Walmart for these events. The obvious area of opportunity for Walmart and VPA is leasing currently vacant or seldom used space that is a significant distance from their retail facility. Over the past thirty years every dealer in this community has participated in these types of events all over Michiana. Similar events will occur several times this summer in surrounding communities. Gates requests permission to stage this event in our own community. We believe that this unique area of Walmart parking lot is one of the few facilities that have been inherently constructed to handle this type of event by having the appropriate access, lighting, and parking. An internal study conducted by Gates recently revealed some relevant sales data. Nearly 30% of the sales generated at our previous events were from outside the State of Indiana or our County; LaPorte, Berrien, Cass, Marshall, Elkhart, just to name a few. This simply confirms that Gates can create a regional draw that is beneficial to the surrounding businesses and the City of South Bend. The submitted site plan for this event does not ask for or include changes in landscape, structural integrity, permanent traffic patterns, or any other demand that would interfere with the City of South Bend Comprehensive Plan. In closing, Will the proposed use be compatible with the recommendations of the City of South Bend Comprehensive Plan? Obviously we believe this event fits perfectly with the City of South Bend Comprehensive plan. The local and surrounding communities have grown accustom to, and continue to anticipate, the off site events that we promote. Every dealer in this community, at one time or another, in conjunction with the generous consideration of the City of South Bend and the authorities that govern it, have been part of many creative, exciting, safe, and mutually beneficial off -site sales events. Nearly 300 Gates employees and their families, surrounding businesses, and the economy in general benefit from these events. We believe that good business stewardship demands that we protect our future as well as the business climate of our City, where our employees work, live, and spend their money. Creating new and exciting promotions in today's market is certainly more challenging than at any time in our history. A free market economy in it's self does not guarantee success. This very public petition gives notice to crafty competitors of our future business plans. Gates Toyota is confident that this request is worth the risk. We believe these events will continue to energize an already vibrant and progressive economic state in the City of South Bend. We simply ask the Area Board of Zoning Appeals to join us in embracing this commerce initiative. Gates Toyota would like to thank the Area Board of Zoning Appeals for the consideration of our petition and respectfully pray that our request be granted. THANK YOU Contact Information.... Clint Emberton, GSM Gates Automotive, Inc. 640 West Ireland Rd. South Bend, IN 46614 574- 299 -7477 cemberton @gatestoyota Mike Kauffman, GM VPA Promotions 5502 Walsh Lane Suite #103 Rogers, AR mkauffman@vpapromotion 407 - 230 -7337 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given to all interested persons that the Area Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a public hearing in the Council Chambers on the 4th Floor of the County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana on the 1 St day of June , 2016 , at 1:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard. This hearing is for the purpose of considering a petition that was Filed by: Gates Toyota Seeking: A Special Exception to allow automobile sales in a ME District On real estate commonly described as: 700 W. Ireland Road, South Bend. IN and is legally described as follows: Lot "BB" in Erskine Commons Minor Subdivision 3rd Re plat A o � Dated this /u day of �Oy Area Board of Zoning Appeals 4, Carolyn A. H( Secretary to the Board J' TO THE PETITIONER: It is your responsibility to complete this form correctly and deliver it to. t_ ! Secretary of the Board of Zoning Appeals with the other papers at the time of original filing. Once it is signed by the Secretary, then it is your responsibility to make arrangements to have publication of notice made in a local newspaper having general circulation in St. Joseph County. Such notice must be published one (1) time, being at least ten (10) clays prior to the data On 1wThich the public hearing is to be held. Proof of publication must be presented to the Board at the time of public hearing. �rOf110tf 5502 Walsh Lan ,Suite 10, fingers, AR RE: Authorizatjon to Dealer for Offsite Walmart Parking Lot Event Gates Automotive 640 W Ireland d. South Bend, IN 46614 To whom this niav concern: Please be advised that the lot event scheduled for the dates of September 19th — September 23r'. 2016 at the Walmart # 3436 located at 700 W Ireland Rd. South Bend, IN has been approved by the Walmart Home Office, the local store manager, and VPA Promotions (the authorized lot p omoter for Walmart Stores, Inc.) This event has )een approved for the number of parking spaces as noted within the executed "Lot Agreemen ' which thereby provides permission for the above noted dealership to conduct such event on t ie designated Walmart lot. Further, use of the indoor restroom and other sanitary facilitie within the Walmart store are granted and available to the dealership staff, and to the like, also o customers coming on the Walmart lot-during the event. The dealership may setup their inve tort' display the day before the aforementioned dates, and remove the inventory the evening oft a end date or morning thereafter. Further, we req ire the dealership provide a copy (or copies) of all applicable permits that may be required to t a in compliance with any city, county, state, or municipality laws for the dealership to h id such an offsite event. Copies of such permits may be faxed to our offices directly at 1 -88 - 4949329 or emailed to loteventsOlypapromotions.com Please note, us of a "tent for event is allowable on the lot, although, the use of tent stakes or any drilling into he Walmart parking lot is strictly prohibited, but use of sand bags, water barrels or concrete blo ks are an acceptable alternative. We appreciate our business with VPA Promotions - Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any quest' ns. Sincere thanks, Rachael Driggs , VPA Promotions Walmart Lot Team 888 - 705 -4872 111 '-- — 5502 Walsh Le jaf fSt11t7t:1 E1S RE: Authorization to Dealer for Offsite Walmart Parking Lot Event Gates Automot ve 640 W Ireland d. South Bend, P4 46614 To whom this nhay concern: Suite t 1O- +VAYer4 rGraE,k7 Please bHadvi ed that the lot even t scheduled for the dates of July 18th — July 22 "d2016 at the Walmart located at 700 W Ireland Rd. South Bend. IN has been approved by the Walmart Office, the local store manager, and VPA Promotions (the authorized lot promoter Imart Stores, Inc.) This event has oeen approved for the number of parking spaces as noted within the executed "Lot Agreemen " which thereby provides permission for the above noted dealership to conduct such event on tie designated Walmart lot. Further, use of the indoor restroom and other sanitary facilitie 5 within the Walmart store are granted and available to the dealership staff, and to the like, also to customers coming on the Walmart lot during the event. The dealership may setup their rove tory display the day before the aforementioned dates, and remove the inventory the evening of the end date or morning thereafter. Further, we req ire the dealership provide a copy (or copies) of all applicable permits that may be required to t a in compliance with any city, county, state, or municipality laws for the dealership to hc Id such an offsite event. Copies of such permits may be faxed to our offices directly at 1-888-494-9329 or emailed to loteventsCaNpapromotions.com Please note, uso of a "tent" for event is allowable on the lot, although, the use of tent stakes or any drilling into a Walmart parking lot is strictly prohibited, but use of sand bags, water barrels or concrete blo ks are an acceptable alternative. 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