By JONATHAN SNYDER
A special exemption for two apartments on an existing structure at 10350 N State Road 1 in Ossian was approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday.
The property is currently a business three zone. Jason Meyer of Meyer Renovation stated that two people involved with the building will be living at the back of the building, with the apartments attached to it. Meyer stated that there is a firewall between the apartments and the building itself, which houses three companies: Meyer Renovation, Creative Cabinets and Countertops and Meyer Removal. Meyer additionally claimed that units in Ossian’s Industrial Park have a similar setup, with living units available for employees.
BZA Secretary Michael Lautzenheiser Jr. said that the wording of the special exemption for housing in business zones states that the residency must be in the same parcel as the business, and that the housing can only be used by the owner or an agent of the owner responsible for management of the premises.
Meyer stated that only the property caretaker responsible for gardening, housekeeping and other maintenance of the property and the office and project manager for the three companies housed in the facility, will be living in the two apartments.
Mike Fancher of 3053E 1050N in Ossian expressed his concerns about the exemption, citing earlier issues about permits and lights not getting resolved until recently. Fancher used these issues and distrust of the project to note that it would be difficult to enforce who is living in the apartments, should the employees not be living there.
While board member Tyson Brooks acknowledged that the situation surrounding the permits was a fiasco, over time the concerns of both the Area Plan Commission and the public have been resolved. The lights have been turned off, a two-stage ditch was constructed and permits have been filed for.
“It was done poorly, I’ll be the first to admit it,” Brooks said. “But … what we try not to do, we try not to ruin people, we try to work with people. Mr. Meyer has, with all due respect, finally come around and turned off the lights, two-staged the ditch, and got his permits. Typically we’re at the right steps for no building that’s existed whatsoever, this is where we should be right now without a building. We’re trying to do the best we can with a situation that we’ve never faced before.”
Fencing was also a concern for a set of dumpsters on the southwest foreigner of the property. While the dumpsters are fenced in on the south side, a side with a residential home on it, the other sides have had issues with getting fencing due to nearby easements, ditches in the area and Ossian sewer projects that are planned to run through the area.
The board approved the exemption, with a commitment that only current employees of Meyer, who hold the job titles of property caretaker and office and project manager, are able to live in the two apartments.
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