The Porter Board of
Zoning Appeals will hold a public hearing at its meeting next month to
decide an appeal made by Porter resident Douglas Leicht for shed and fence
line permits along his rental property at 110-112 N. Wagner Road.
Leicht said his
concern is having the fence line on the neighboring property to the west
being 40 inches away from his house and only 23 inches away with the air
conditioner.
“It seems awfully
close,” he told the BZA at its meeting Wednesday.
Porter Building
Commissioner Michael Barry said the building permit for the fence was issued
to the neighbors in May which they can build on their property line.
Barry said a survey
was done that showed where the property lines are. The home was built long
ago, prior to when Town building standards were implemented, several
structures on Leicht’s property are now shown crossing over into the
neighbor’s property, including a shed that was built without a proper
permit.
The Town issued an
order on June 30 to remove the shed and foundation and prohibiting
reconstruction until a proper permit is obtained. Leicht said the shed is
not as big a concern to him as the fence line but decided to proceed with
both appeals.
BZA attorney Laura
frost said the BZA is given the authority to be the appeal body for issues
of permits by administrative officials. Like petitions for variances, it is
required to hold public hearings on appeal requests, she said.
The BZA voted
unanimously on a motion made by member Kenneth Timm to schedule the hearing
for Wednesday, Aug. 16. The hearing will need to be advertised in the
newspaper at least 10 days prior.