Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Chesterton BZA wants new Centier sign to be smaller

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By JEFF SCHULTZ

The Centier Bank branch on South Calumet Rd. wants to swap its freestanding sign for a monument sign on its west side bordering North 100 East.

The current sign is 18 feet tall and the bank is requesting to use the top part for its monument sign at 9’ x 8’ feet for a grand total of 172 square feet, but some members of the Chesterton Board of Zoning Appeals feel it is still too large.

At Thursday’s board meeting, Centier got a continuance for the public hearing until next month but attorney Greg Babcock said it would like to hear what suggestions the board would have for them.

Babcock said that when the area became a business district after the sign was installed in 2003, more traffic has been using 100E instead of the curve onto Calumet Rd. which no longer has an outlet to CR 1050E and Ind. 49.

Centier originally wanted to put up a freestanding sign on the 100E side but BZA members Fred Owens and Kim Goldak, during last month’s preliminary hearing, said that would not fit the vision for the area as it is now.

Goldak made the suggestion that the bank’s wall-mounted sign at its drive-thru could be moved up to the west of the building where it would be more visible to 100E.

BZA member Jim Kowalski, who was absent for the preliminary hearing, added that the “days of the huge freestanding signs” are diminishing and said he favors decreasing the size for the proposed monument sign.

If the sign is too big, neighboring businesses would complain to the BZA the that their visibility is blocked, Kowalski said.

“You need to go back to the drawing board. I’m just giving you the hint. This is outrageous,” he said.

Babcock said Centier would consider the comments and make a presentation at next month’s public hearing.

Special meeting for single family homes

Also Thursday, the board decided it will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 31 for Brian Lewandowski’s request to reduce the lot sizes at 1523 Park Ave. so he can build two single-family residences for sale or rent.

BZA attorney Julie Paulson said that it was the Town’s error that the notice for the public hearing did not make it into the newspaper until nine days before when by law it needs to be ten days before.

The board could discuss the request still, Paulson said but advised to not make any final decisions in case someone made an allegation that the hearing wasn’t given notice in a timely matter. She said that a special meeting could be given as long as there is 48 hours’ notice.

Lewandowski and the board agreed they could meet on Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m.

After last month’s meeting, Lewandowski said he did speak with neighbors who had concerns about having two separate homes there and after those conversations, the neighbors were then an agreement with the petition.

Another option would have been to put a duplex on the property but Lewandowski said he felt the two homes would fit better with the character of the area.

Hearings set

Two more public hearings will be held in September.

A petition by James Kurczewski of 1004 S. Jackson Blvd. requests permission to have a front porch 18’ and 6” from the front lot line when a maximum of 20 feet is allowed. Babcock said Kurczewski wished to make improvements on the porch to make it look better. The porch had been there when he purchased the house in 1980.

“It does look nice,” Goldak said of photographs of the porch.

After Town staff inspected the construction, it was discovered that there was a violation of the setback, Babcock said.

Next, the board heard a petition by the Joyce Fleming Revocable Living Trust for a reduction of the front yard setback of eight feet and a reduction of nine inches for the side yard setback in the 100 block of Wilson St. where it tees with Indiana Ave.

Cliff Fleming representing the Trust said he and his wife Joyce wish to build a one-story home towards the front of the property and leave the back as it is since it serves as a backdrop for Coffee Creek Park to the west.

Fleming, who currently lives in the Villages of Burns Harbor, said he hopes to start building in October and be ready to move in next summer.

 

 

Posted 8/26/2016

 
 
 
 

 

 

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