By PAULENE POPARAD

On the unanimous recommendation of town department heads, the Porter Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-2 Wednesday granting three variances for an undersized parcel at Porter Beach so Ray Cahnman can build a two-car garage.

His attorney, Bob Welsh, said he didn’t believe the zoning request to be controversial, but more than 20 remonstrators by letter and in person begged to differ. Only Miff Woolsey spoke in favor of the petition saying no access would be blocked.

After the meeting, one remonstrator asked town attorney Patrick Lyp how many days they have to appeal the BZA decision in Porter Superior Court. Lyp said 30 days.

“If you OK this, the next step is 100 other requests,” warned opponent Elka Nelson during public comment. “My concern is we start building on every nook and cranny in the (beach) district.”

Remonstrator Jamie Hogan agreed. She said of approximately 124 homes at the beach, only about 30 have garages, adding that Cahnman’s request was a hot-button issue and approving it would fly in the face of strict adherence to the zoning ordinance and orderly, dunes-sensitive development.

BZA president Bruce Snyder asked that the board vote by signed written ballot. He, Lorain Bell and Bob Kremke voted yes; Henry Huyser and Greg Stinson voted no.

Opponents said it would set a disasterous precedent to allow Cahnman to build a garage on a 20-foot by 100-foot parcel west of an undeveloped public alley next to his adjacent 311 Duneland Dr. home, which has a one-car garage.

Town planner Jim Mandon said BZA decisions don’t set precedent, but Lyp said given the same circumstances as Cahnman, the board would have to be consistent when considering future petitions.

Welsh said it would be difficult to duplicate Cahnman’s situation because he also co-owns land on the west boundary of his 20-foot by 100-foot parcel, the former having covenants against building on it. Nevertheless Michael Shea, who is one of the co-owners and also owns other contiguous property, said, “I’m very much against this (petition).”

The only structure on the co-owned land is a garage partially covered by sand. Shea said Cahnman can use it but Welsh said it doesn’t suit his client’s purposes. When asked by Snyder if Cahnman’s garage at his home will remain, Welsh said yes but he didn’t know for what purpose it’s being used.

Mandon said the town Technical Advisory Committee or TAC, comprised of department heads, felt the three statutory requirements needed for each of the variances Cahnman sought were met, in part because he had a practical difficulty in building another garage at his home due to that parcel’s topography, and because the 20-foot by 100-foot parcel alone was too small to build upon.

Granting the variances is an acceptable alternative, Mandon advised.

He also said there was no formal vote at the January TAC meeting when the variances were discussed, no minutes taken or agenda used, however, he said it’s been suggested that TAC better document its future activities.

Specifically, the BZA approved three variances: to build an accessory structure --- the garage --- on a lot that has no principal structure; to eliminate the requirement for side-yard setbacks in a Residential-1 zone; and to vary the minimum lot size required for building on property in an R-1 zone.

Late last year the Porter Town Council denied Cahnman’s request to vacate the 14-foot-wide alley giving ownership to him so he could combine his two, non-contiguous parcels and build the garage.

Remonstrator Melissa Cohen disagreed with Mandon that the BZA decision won’t set precedent. She said her beach home showed a dramatic decrease in property value due to uncertainty over enforcement of Porter’s zoning ordinances. “People aren’t going to buy into an area when there’s uncertainty around them.”

An emotional Gilbert Lehmann said for 30 years he’s seen the dunes stolen through vacations of public rights-of-way and bad development. “Please, don’t let them steal from us,” he urged.

Some remonstrators said Cahnman demonstrated no hardship, but Lyp said since a use variance isn’t the kind being requested, practical difficulty is the standard to be met. The BZA majority agreed and also found that granting the variance would not be injurious to safety and the general welfare, and that adjacent property owners won’t be affected in an adverse manner.

Bell said the BZA had heard from only one adjacent property owner, and Welsh said although he sent letters to all contiguous landowners informing them of Cahnman’s request, “Nobody contacted me at all.”

Snyder said many of the remonstrance letters were form letters; some cited the Porter Plan Commission’s 2005 presentation regarding a Porter Beach preservation district with special zoning protections that, other than the town surveying the area, never got off the ground.

Nelson said the board can’t allow new, non-conforming structures to be built. Welsh said Cahnman was “only asking for a garage, no great movement out of the norm,” and that he would site the garage wherever the town wanted on the parcel.

Stinson asked but was not answered when Cahnman bought his land parcels. If it were after the zoning ordinance was in place, said Stinson, “I raise the question, who’s responsible for the practical difficulty of the lot?” Stinson felt approving the variances would provide an opportunity for other people to seek permission to use non-conforming lots.

In other business, the BZA voted unanimously to set a public hearing April 16 for Andrew Brack, 124 Rankin St., who wants to build an addition on the west side in line with his legal but non-conforming house, which has a 10-foot front-yard setback. A setback of 30 feet for the corner lot is required by town code so a variance is needed.

Meeting separately, the Porter Plan Commission voted 7-0 Wednesday to replat Brack’s Lots 10 and 11 into one lot of record to obtain a building permit for the addition.

Posted 3/20/2008