Despite a letter from the Milford Town Council supporting the request, the Kosciusko County Board of Zoning Appeals denied a petition from Mishler Funeral Home Tuesday.
Mishler Funeral Home, represented by Ryan Mishler, sought approval for a funeral home in a commercial district. The property is on the north side of Emeline Street and zero feet west of West Street in Van Buren Township.
The letter from the Milford town council said the council gave their support and the funeral home would be in the "best interest of the town."
However, BZA member Vic Virgil said, though he didn't like to go against a town's wishes, a funeral home is "something that ought to be in a peaceful area," not up against a commercial area. The funeral home would be next to a grocery store and gas station.
BZA member Ron Sharp said he understood the community is divided over the proposed new funeral home.
"I don't think it's good planning," said Virgil. He moved to deny the request and the board agreed. Reasons for his denial, he said, included that the funeral home isn't compatible with the area, he wants to preserve the purpose of the county's ordinances, visual aesthetics and the funeral home may cause a condition that could be dangerous.
There were no remonstrators against the petition.
For the second month in a row, a petition by Bright PCS was continued.
Bright PCS petitioned for an exception for a communication tower in an agricultural district. The property is on the west side of Ind. 19 and zero feet south of Nappanee corporate line in Scott Township.
Last month the BZA continued the petition so Bright PCS representatives could discuss the petition with the city of Nappanee.
The attorney and city zoning administrator for Nappanee remonstrated at June's meeting. They said that the property, currently zoned agricultural, is in an area they see going residential in the future. The attorney also said that if the tower is intended to serve Nappanee, the town believes Nappanee city provisions should be considered. The petitioners did not contact Nappanee about their petition.
Nappanee ordinances don't allow telecommunication towers in residential areas. Their ordinances prefer towers in areas where the towers will blend in with the surroundings.
According to a Bright PC representative, the communication tower is approximately 700 feet west of Ind. 19 and 525 feet south of the Nappanee corporate line. Bright PC is leasing a 100- foot-by-100-foot piece of property for the tower. The tower will be fenced in, stoned and monitored 24 hours a day.
The representative said Bright PC already has several towers in Kosciusko County and is building a network of towers.
The Bright PCS representatives said they didn't notify Nappanee because they're not in the jurisdiction of Nappanee and they followed all of the legal requirements. As far as the area becoming residential, the Bright PC representatives said the property owner has no plans to sell his property.
Tuesday, the mayor of Nappanee remonstrated against the petition.
But the petition had to be continued again Tuesday when the BZA voted 2-2 to approve it. The board has five members and it takes three votes to approve a petition, but with one member absent, they had to continue the petition again.
Another petition continued was the petition for a variance by Kale Island Beacon. They petitioned the BZA to allow an off-premise sign to remain in its current location. However, because of the property location being advertised incorrectly, the petition was continued to allow it to be readvertised. The property is on the north side of Pickwick Road and zero feet east of Kings Drive, not East Shore Drive as advertised.
Petitions by Brett Yates for an exception and a variance were approved. However, upon approval the BZA put a condition on Yates' petitions that there be a maximum of six tractor-trailers and the mobile office must be moved.
His exception was for the purpose of an agricultural trucking company in an agricultural district. The variance was to allow two uses (a residence and commercial agricultural trucking company) on one tract of ground.
The property is on the west side of Tinkey Road and 1,300 feet north of Ind. 25 in Harrison Township.
A petition for an exception for sales, service and repair of manufactured housing by ERI Housing in a commercial district was approved. The property is on the east side of Ind. 15 and one mile south of CR 600N in Plain Township.
There were 40 petitions before the zoning board Tuesday. Of the 40, five were denied, two were continued, one was withdrawn and the rest were approved, some with conditions.
Members of the county BZA include Vic Virgil, Ron Sharp, Charlie Haffner, Bob Beer and Walter Church.
They meet at 8:30 a.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. [[In-content Ad]]
