By Charlotte Caldwell
SIDNEY – The Sidney Zoning Board of Appeals approved eight variances, four of which were for the McDonald’s rebuild, at a meeting on Oct. 16.
The variances included the following:
• To have 5% glass (windows) on the side elevation of the McDonald’s rebuild facing VanDemark Road. The zoning code requires that any side elevation of a building facing the street (such as those on a building situated on a corner lot) have the same amount of transparency as the building’s front elevation;
• To increase maximum lot coverage from 70% to 82.8% for the McDonald’s rebuild. The current lot coverage is 91.1%. Lot coverage is the area of the property that is covered by impervious surfaces, such as roof, other structures, or paving such as concrete, or asphalt, that does not allow rainwater to soak into the soil;
• To allow more than 1/3 of the parking spaces in the front yards along Michigan Street and VanDemark Road for the McDonald’s rebuild. The zoning code states that parking in the front yard is permitted only if it is less than 1/3 of the site’s total parking spaces;
• To reduce the number of trees required in the front yard along VanDemark Road from six to zero for the McDonald’s rebuild. City staff recommended this due to the presence of utilities in the planting area;
• To have barbed wire fencing in the front yards of the property located at 1250-1280 N. VanDemark Road;
• To reduce the size of the required landscape buffer from 30 feet to 5 feet for the property located at 339 Bowman Drive to accommodate new residential construction;
• To allow a parking facility to cover 49% of the front yard — which the maximum is 35% — for a lot located east of North VanDemark Road and Echo Drive which will eventually be a 216-unit apartment complex;
• To allow construction of an accessory building in the front yard of the property located at 1610 Broadway Ave. Although the majority of the rear yard is wooded and hilly with a creek running through it, city staff found that it would not cause a practical difficulty in building the accessory building behind the house and building it in front could impact the appearance of the surrounding neighborhood as well as create a visual distraction and a safety hazard to motor vehicles. The owner of the property was present at the meeting and argued against staff’s findings. Pictures and aerial views of the property were provided to the board. Board members went into executive session to discuss and approved the accessory building to be in the front yard upon returning.
Board members Ken Jensen and Jim Fortkamp were not in attendance and were excused by the board.
The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will be held on Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. in City Hall’s council chambers.
