A petition for a new 42’ x 64’ replacement shed to store vehicles for Area Tree Service located at 25 West U.S. 6 in Liberty Twp., was tabled 3-2 by members of the Porter County Board of Zoning appeals who said the business is in need of some sprucing up.

Business owner Paul Edmonds and attorney Todd Leeth said an existing 28’ x 28’ primary structure has nowhere near the adequate space the business needs to store its many bucket trucks and dump trucks.

Leeth said housing the trucks indoors will help them start and maneuver better during winter months when the volume of service calls are high.

In addition to the new storage structure, the business made a separate request to allow for Edmonds to reside on the same two-acre parcel where he operates his business. A third variance request was made to keep the wooden privacy fence that separates the property from an adjacent mobile home park as it is instead of using a masonry divider as called for by the county’s development ordinance.

From the audience, neighbor Donald Trowbridge said the view of the property from the road is “not pretty” with the wood stacked up near the front and asked a tree buffer be put in along the road to soften the view.

Agreeing with Trowbridge’s suggestion was BZA member Rick Burns who thought this would be “an opportunity to dress up the property.”

Burns said he is worried the property will “stick out” with new development likely to be coming in the next few years as a result of the new hospital. Burns and other board members cited safety concerns having an abundance of wood material and trucks packed into the same area making it easy for a possible fire to spread.

BZA member Marvin Brickner, who said he resides about a mile away from the business, told Edmonds he has observed his business nearly double in the past two years and has heard complaints from neighbors saying the wood and equipment stored on the property is “unsightly.” The type of business, he said, is more appropriate for a larger parcel.

“You’ve really outgrown your property,” he said to Edmonds. “You’ve crammed as much as you can.”

Brickner suggested taking down several smaller sheds on the property if Edmonds wishes to construct the new building.

Edmonds said the new shed would remove his trucks from view and agreed to discuss other enhancements before the next BZA meeting on May 16.

The board unanimously tabled the discussion until then.

BZA member Tim Cole had faith improvements could be made but said to Edmonds that the county has the ambition to keep up high standards for property and development.

“We all are in this together. We all have an obligation to each other to keep our property values as they are,” Cole said.

Three remaining variances for the 109-acre St. Andrews LLC development, which will butt up against the west side of the land owned by Porter hospital, were granted 5-0 by the board.

The variances pertain to sidewalk standards that were agreed upon earlier this year. The roadways through the portion of the property zoned Single-family Residential district (R1) will include 24 feet of road and four feet of sidewalk on one side. The sizes were agreed upon by the developers and the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department.

BZA members asked the developers to include sidewalks on both sides of the roads for the one circuit of the subdivision where homes will be located according to site plans.

Posted 4/19/2012