Knox Planning Commission members were informed about an upcoming Board of Zoning Appeals meeting when they met Tuesday night.
Planning Administrator Kenny Pfost stated that a notice of the meeting has been published and neighboring property owners have been notified.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 14th at 7 p.m. in Knox City Hall. Property owner Tim Miller will be submitting a request for a variance on the rear-yard setback requirement since his site plan currently doesn’t meet the 40-foot requirement for commercial properties.
Initially, the Planning Commission members conferred that Miller should submit a petition to the city council to have them vacate an abandoned street that is behind his plot on Pacific Avenue, in order to make up the difference.
However, when he went to the city council, Mayor Estok mentioned that vacating the area would cut off access to a city-owned acre of land. Miller said he’d be willing to buy that property and council members agreed that is a possibility they’re willing to explore.
However, due to the lengthy process involved with vacating the area, establishing a price for the acre and selling it, city council members suggested that he go before the BZA to get a variance on the setback in order to speed things along and get his construction permit as soon as possible.
Miller said that even if the variance is granted, he will be obtaining legal counsel to assist him with securing ownership of the rest of the land.
He explained that he wants to use the area to build a second driveway since he has safety concerns with the current one that is near an elevated set of railroad tracks.
He also mentioned that a city map shows a manhole cover is apparently in the woods behind the property. Miller said the problem is that it must have been buried with brush and refuse over the years because it currently cannot be found. He said he wants to clear the area to find that in order to access it for his sewage utility, to avoid the costly expense of boring to the nearest known access point on Bozarth Street.
