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Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Ind. Courts - "Search for the front of the Randolph County Courthouse continues"
Updatng this ILB entry from May 28th, Joy Leiker of the Muncie Star-Press reports today:
WINCHESTER, Ind. -- The search for the front of the Randolph County Courthouse continues.And it looks like the only way officials are going to find the front door (actually, they're debating the front yard) is through a battle of legal interpretations of the Unified Zoning Ordinance of Randolph County.
Two weeks ago the Board of Zoning Appeals denied a variance that would have allowed a courthouse annex to be built less than 25 feet from the Franklin Street right-of-way. The denial has left county commissioners at a standstill, and the much-debated courthouse renovation and expansion vulnerable to even more public outcry.
Technically, the issue is whether the courthouse must meet the 25-foot setback from all four sides. The courthouse is built on a traditional downtown square. Four streets border the square and the city's downtown businesses all face the courthouse.
The entire area is zoned commercial, and because of that County Attorney John Tanner contends the zoning rules for commercial property don't require minimum setbacks for the sides or back of a property. Tanner said the only setback is for the front door on Main Street, the east side. Since that distance won't be affected by the pending construction project, Tanner thinks the commissioners never needed to go before the BZA in the first place.
But Cathy Flatter, executive director of the Area Planning Commission, said because the courthouse is surrounded by four streets, there are four setback requirements, one on each side of the building.
"When you have four streets there are no side or rear yards. You have to go back to the street," Flatter said Monday. She didn't attend the morning meeting of commissioners.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 4, 2008 09:13 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts