BZA Approves Variances For New Tattoo Parlor, Fence

WARSAW — Warsaw will see a new tattoo parlor as the Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals Monday, Aug. 28, granted a zoning exception to put the parlor in a Commercial-2 zone.

The tattoo parlor will be at 2031 N. Detroit St. Hours will be noon to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday; and noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday. They typically see around 10 to 12 clients a day.

City Planner Justin Taylor said petitioner Michael Vest was requesting a special exception to allow a tattoo parlor be located within a C-2 zoning district as tattoo parlors are permitted by special exception in that zoning district.

Taylor recommended the board approve the variance, which it did.

Earlier in the meeting, the board was presented with a petition to remove a screening requirement for fencing around storage units.

Taylor said petitioner All Secure Self Storage Alpine LLC, 200 Enterprise Drive, was recently approved to construct a two-building storage facility complex along Enterprise Drive. Per section 13.3.3 of the city’s municipal code, vehicle loading areas shall be screened from public roads and adjacent residential districts with a 6-foot contiguous screen. The property is flanked on the west side by a light industrial zone and on the north side by a heavy industrial zone.

Taylor said if the petitioner could show a need for the variance other than merely saving money, the board may see fit to grant the petition, but he didn’t see a compelling reason to approve the variance request.

Debra Hughes, of Surveying and Mapping LLC, Elkhart, said the zoning requirement is for a continuous fence on the street side, approximately 140 feet. They’ve also been requested to continue the fencing 146 feet along the east side of the property.

The south elevation will have a masonry front, which is required by zoning standards, she said. If there’s a masonry front to the building, there’s an attractive elevation, so she said there doesn’t seem necessary to have a screened fence in addition to the masonry front. If the fence is required on the southside, it would be a chainlink fence with slats in it. If the business wasn’t required to put in the screening, they would put in a decorative iron fence “that would be more attractive.” The open fencing would allow the business to be seen.

Hughes said there’s light traffic in the area.

Board member Rick Keevan asked what was between the street and the masonry front. Hughes said there’s a yard. The ordinance considers it a loading zone, which she guesses people could see people loading their personal items. However, there wouldn’t be loading and unloading items routinely.

Kevin Paczkowski, All Secure Self Storage, said they are trying to make the property more attractive and allow people to see it. Putting the decorative iron fence would add cost to the business, rather than be financial relief.

There were no remonstrators. The board approved the petition.

The board also approved variances with no remonstrators for:

Greenbrier Development LLC for a greater than the maximum square feet for a freestanding sign.

Taylor said the proposed sign will be located at the intersection of Airport Road and the newly constructed Greenbrier Boulevard. The sign will have a display area of 19.6 square feet and a total height of 8 feet. Other than size, all other requirements will be followed.

Jeff Thomas, Oakmont Development, said they’ve got two decorative signs. They are putting one in now as the other entrance to the subdivision isn’t done yet. When the sign was completed, he was told it was out of compliance.

The board approved the petition.

Lamar Advertising for a variance from development standards to allow a modification to an existing nonconforming sign by adding an electronic messaging center. The sign, located at 412 N. Detroit St., does not conform to existing sign regulations. Lamar Advertising would like to replace the existing sign with a 12 foot by 24 foot, which is 12 square feet smaller than the existing sign cabinet.

Taylor said the reason it’s non-conforming is because it’s too large. The original sign was grandfathered in.

Taylor said the addition of the sign along the corridor should not have a negative impact on the adjacent properties.

David Herman, Lamar Advertising, said the new sign would be a static sign. There would be an advertisement on the sign and then it would switch to a new ad.

Earl Kline to allow a shipping container to be used as an accessory structure on the east side of the property at 125 W. CR 250N is within an Industrial-2 zone, just south of the airport.

Taylor said the shipping container wouldn’t obstruct sightlines for motorists and will not create hazards for air traffic in the area. It also wouldn’t look out of place within the zoning district since those areas have laxed building material standards when compared to commercial districts.

Kline, of Warsaw Electropolishing, said the container will be used for additional storage space and will be used to store customers’ parts. Currently, there are customers that send in several skids of parts and the business doesn’t have space to store it all.

About Deb Patterson

Deb Patterson has been with The Papers Inc., full time since 1978. Starting out rewriting general news releases, Patterson has expanded to covering all areas in the reporting field and won numerous awards through HSPA. She is also the former editor of four northern Indiana Senior Life publications. She was named Editor-In-Chief of The Papers Inc., in January 2020.