City of Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - November 21, 2025

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) held a regular meeting on November 21, 2025, beginning approximately 40 minutes late due to technical issues. The meeting included consideration of six petitions for conditional use permits and variances. The board approved four petitions as recommended or with modifications, and partially approved one petition following staff recommendation. Key topics included church expansion, floodplain access, an auto sales lot, a hotel development, a residential addition for accessibility, and a fast-food restaurant with drive-through.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes from October 23, 2025 – approved unanimously (4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

• V-44-25 (Foreign Auto Connect): Catherine Burns, a resident of Peachtree, expressed concerns about hours of operation, noise impacts, and the retention of the existing privacy fence. She asked for clarification on operational details.
• No other public comments were received for any other petitions.

Discussion Items

1. CU/V-45-25 – Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ

• Petition: Conditional use approval for a place of worship and a variance from sidewalk/tree plot width standards to allow a 14,000-square-foot expansion (multi-purpose gymnasium, offices, meeting rooms, storage) at 1100 East Miller Drive, in an R2 zoning district. The variance is needed due to drainage and topography constraints along Highland Avenue.
• Staff Report: Recommended approval with conditions, noting compliance with the UDO and comprehensive plan, and citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) protections.
• Petitioner: Represented by an engineer; stated that alternative sidewalk designs were discussed with planning and the proposed solution resolves practical difficulties.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve with four conditions (three from staff report plus one superseding previous CU-25-25). Approved unanimously (4-0).

2. CU-33-25 – St. Remy Homeowners Association

• Petition: Conditional use approval for a driveway in the floodplain and a variance from environmental standards to allow access for repairs to an exposed sanitary sewer line and stabilization of a detention pond/wetland on common area lots at 3716 East St. Remy Drive.
• Staff Report: Recommended approval with eight conditions, emphasizing public health and safety benefits and a substantial mitigation plan (new plantings, wetland buffer definition).
• Petitioner: David Welch (HOA President) stated the work is a health and safety matter. Estimated project cost ~$400,000. No city assistance was provided.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve with staff’s eight conditions. Approved unanimously (4-0).

3. V-44-25 – Foreign Auto Connect

• Petition: Multiple variances from front parking setback (along West Bloomfield Road and South Peachtree Lane), parking lot perimeter trees/shrubs, and landscape islands for a used car sales lot at a former landscaping site (2.21 acres, mixed-use corridor zoning). The business plans to relocate from South Walnut Street.
• Staff Report: Recommended approval of the variance for the South Peachtree Lane setback (9 spaces encroaching) and denial of the other three variances (West Bloomfield Road setback, perimeter landscaping, and landscape islands), citing negative impacts on health, safety, and aesthetics, and lack of practical difficulties.
• Petitioner: Daniel Butler (engineer) argued the site’s existing eight-foot privacy fence shields vehicles from public view; the inventory area is not a public parking lot; and required islands would reduce display space by 10–12 vehicles. Proposed 77 new trees on site overall.
• Public Comment: Catherine Burns asked about hours, noise, and fence retention.
• Board Discussion: Board members noted the fence’s screening effect, the site’s vacant condition, and that the variances would enable redevelopment. The board found practical difficulties due to the fence, existing grade for ADA parking, and the retail nature of the display area.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve all four variances based on the petitioner’s submitted findings of fact. No additional conditions. Approved unanimously (4-0).

4. V-48-25 – Trades District Hotel (Bloomington Trades District)

• Petition: Variances from upper floor stepback requirements (portions of west and south facades) and minimum landscape area (15% required; ~6,200 sq ft provided plus 9,500 sq ft green roof) for a four-story, 160–170 room boutique hotel with meeting space, restaurant, and rooftop bar on West 10th Street.
• Staff Report: Recommended approval with three conditions, finding no adverse impact and noting public benefits of open space and green roof.
• Petitioner: Briefly stated the variances are interrelated and support sustainability and public amenities.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve with staff’s three conditions. Approved unanimously (4-0).

5. V-49-25 – Jiyang Li (Residential Addition)

• Petition: Variance from the 25-foot rear setback to build a first-floor bedroom addition (enclosed space) at 2616 South Pages Way. The existing deck is 16 feet from the rear line; the addition would maintain that setback and extend width.
• Staff Report: Recommended denial, concluding no practical difficulty existed (property similar to others, other feasible alternatives like converting garage or building a secondary dwelling unit, or adding a story). The deck is a lawful non-conforming structure and can be repaired without variance.
• Petitioner: Zhao Yang Li (owner) stated the deck is unsafe; the addition is needed for her wheelchair-bound father (parents live with family). The lot’s shape (narrow cul-de-sac) and existing non-conforming deck create unique conditions. Proposed addition would not extend farther into setback.
• Board Discussion: Board members questioned whether the existing deck’s footprint could be reused without full extension, but the petitioner noted foundation issues. Board discussed the practical difficulty of providing accessible first-floor space for a disabled family member and found the staff’s alternatives (garage conversion, second story) less desirable or not feasible due to grade and setback constraints.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve based on the petitioner’s findings for criterion three (practical difficulties are peculiar to the property), using staff’s findings for criteria one and two. Approved unanimously (4-0) with condition that plans as submitted are approved.

6. V-50-25 – Rena LJSLLC (Dunkin’ Restaurant)

• Petition: Variance from maximum parking (requesting 10 instead of 6), variance from driveway separation requirements (two drive cuts on West 3rd Street, 66 feet apart; required 100 feet), and variance from signage standards (larger drive-through directional signs and wall signage) for a 2,285 sq ft restaurant with drive-through.
• Staff Report: Recommended approval of parking variance (due to employee needs) with four conditions; recommended denial of driveway and signage variances, citing safety concerns (conflict points) and no practical difficulties (signage can be customized; single driveway equidistant from adjacent drives is feasible).
• Petitioner: Vic Patel (developer) and Nicoletta Scarlatus (architect) argued the drive-through requires two cuts for efficiency; the wall signage is needed for visibility from eastbound traffic (median blocks westbound). Noted they own adjacent Long John Silver’s and could fall back on retrofitting if denied.
• Board Vote: Motion to approve parking variance and deny driveway and signage variances, following staff recommendation with conditions. Approved (4-0).

Key Outcomes

• CU/V-45-25 (Apostolic Church): Approved with conditions (4-0).
• CU-33-25 (St. Remy HOA): Approved with eight conditions (4-0).
• V-44-25 (Foreign Auto Connect): All four variances approved based on petitioner’s findings (4-0).
• V-48-25 (Trades District Hotel): Approved with three conditions (4-0).
• V-49-25 (Jiyang Li): Approved with condition that plans as submitted are approved (4-0).
• V-50-25 (Dunkin’): Partial approval: parking variance granted; driveway separation and signage variances denied (4-0).
• Continuances: Three petitions (AA-17-22, CU-33-24, V-42-25) continued to December 18, 2025.
• Meeting Adjournment: After completing all business, the meeting adjourned after 9:00 PM following a suspension of rules to hear V-50-25.

Note: The transcript indicates the meeting was called to order on November 20, 2025, but the date provided for this summary is November 21, 2025. This summary uses the provided date.