Michael Lauber, left, listens as Matt Sandy, center, Area Plan Commissioner explains his case to the Kosciusko County BZA. In the back, from left are BZA members John Beer, Lee Harman, Randy Cox and Ron Robinson.

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — North Webster resident Michael Lauber had his petition for a variance to permit a 6-foot-by-10-foot shed to remain continued by the Kosciukso County Board of Zoning during its regular meeting Tuesday morning, March 14.

The shed in question is at zero feet from the north property line and 15 feet from the road right of way.

Matt Sandy,  area plan commissioner, told the BZA the matter came to them as a complaint. Lauber told the board he thought he was on his property, had a survey done and realized the shed was encroaching onto his neighbor’s property and moved it to the property line.

The neighbor remonstrated, providing a survey done in 1989, which shows the shed is still encroaching onto his property. He asked for the shed to be moved off his property along with any other encroachments such as a fence between his property and Lauber’s.

Sandy provided the board with a letter of support from the Town of North Webster and a letter of remonstrance from the North Webster Community Center, which complained of Lauber using its parking lot for overflow parking.

When asked about the earlier survey, Lauber questioned whether the survey company was still in business. Sandy said it was. He then suggested the survey was falsified.

Lee Harman, BZA president, made a motion to have another survey done and the matter continued until the April 11 BZA meeting. The motion carried.

The board approved a request from Josh Woodcock to allow a home occupation business in a residential district and to have a 4-foot-by-8-foot sign for his business in Wayne Township.

Local attorney Steve Snyder, representing Woodcock, explained his client has a mobile welding business where he goes out to job sites to do his work. Responding to one complaint regarding a semi making a delivery, Snyder told the board Woodcock would eliminate that issue by going to the vendor’s warehouse himself to pick up his orders.

Neighbors on both sides of Woodcock’s property provided letters of support and Snyder said his client was working on improving the property.

The board approved a request from Joseph Moody to allow an air conditioning unit to be 2 feet from the side property line with the stipulation clear access be maintained on the other side of the house.

Kurt Hursey of Hursey’s Inc., the construction firm building the house, told the board Moody designed his dream home and did not account for the air conditioning in his plans until the house was framed and the mechanicals were being installed. Moody spoke to the neighbor who has no issues with the air conditioning unit being that close to his property.

Terry Martin came before the board seeking an exception for a home occupation business. Martin lives in Plain Township and operates a business buying and selling firearms. He needed the exception as a requirement to receive a federal firearms license to ship firearms to customers.

Martin explained his business is focused on collectible and antique style firearms, not modern firearms. The board approved the exception.

Tange Thompson, Plain Township, received approval for a variance to repair her home 3.5 feet from the west property line and to add a second floor. Thompson explained a large tree fell and destroyed her sunroom.

The board approved the following cases:

• Beth Ann Prater for variance to allow a 12-foot-by-40-foot addition to her home 35 feet from the right of way from the road where 50 feet is required in Washington Township.

•Joel Scharpendberg for a variance allowing a residence addition to remain as constructed 6 feet from the north property line in Van Buren Township.

• David Brosky for a variance to allow an open carport 19 feet from the right of way from the road and 1 foot from the side property line in Tippecanoe Township.

• Darlene Guthrie for a variance to allow an accessory building to remain 8 feet from the property line in Prairie Township.

• Lavern Bontrager for an exception to allow a home-based business with five unrelated employees.

The board also approved continuing to the April 11 meeting the case of Edd Allen, who is seeking an exception to allow manufactured home sales in a commercial district in Tippecanoe Township. The board asked Allen to provide a traffic study at the February meeting and he is still working to get it done.