OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – June 23, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
BodyColumbus, Indiana
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 22:33

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

All right, looks like it's we're ready to go.

0:04

Yeah, we our applicants are here.

0:06

Yeah.

0:10

If it's flashing, is it on or is it off?

0:13

If it's flashing, it's off.

0:14

Okay, so yeah.

0:16

Okay, thank you.

0:21

You had a cycle.

0:24

There you go.

0:29

Yeah.

0:30

Shop.

0:30

We'll have to share.

0:31

Yeah, I'm sure.

0:32

Yeah, I was just saying.

0:34

I speak well enough.

0:35

It'll catch on some of us.

0:37

What hours?

0:39

Call the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting for the 23rd of June to order.

0:46

My name's Zach Ellison.

0:47

I'll be the presiding officer at this hearing.

0:50

And we meet the fourth Tuesday of each month.

0:55

The board is comprised of five members.

0:58

Forum consists of three of the five members, and a motion requires three votes to pass.

1:04

We'll begin with a roll call of the planning department and the board, staff in attendance this evening.

1:10

So Austin witted deputy city attorney.

1:13

Michael Kinder, Zach Govelson.

1:17

Melissa Begley Planning Department.

1:23

Thank you so much.

1:25

Yeah, I know we are members of the board have received this report granted by the planning department staff on each petition to be heard this evening.

1:37

We'll provide an opportunity for the public to speak.

1:43

And then we will uh this goes back too far, and then we would take them online.

1:49

But that's as in the packs now.

1:51

This is a judicial proceeding and remarks made by petitioners and members of the public are considered testimony.

1:58

I would like our staff attorney Austin Witt to swear in anyone who wishes to speak as a member of the public or as a petitioner.

2:06

So please stand and be sworn in.

2:09

If you intend to speak tonight, please stand and raise your right hand.

2:11

You saw the swear from the Sesame So deal with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

2:15

If so, please take out you.

2:17

I do.

2:17

Thank you.

2:18

I yield back.

2:19

Thank you.

2:20

All right.

2:23

And Kyra's gonna start us off on this.

2:26

On this one uh first hearing is VZA 26-41 Sitka nursery for conditional use.

2:34

Uh it's uh request for Wolf Creek Landscape Services, LLC uh for a conditional use approval to allow a greenhouse and plant nursery in agriculture uh preferred uh zoning district, and this uh property is located at 941 North 500 West in Harrison Township.

2:54

Kyra.

2:55

Well, I apologize.

2:56

I'm just now noticing it says 39.90, and it should be 34.90 acres.

3:02

Staff report has it correctly, so all right.

3:08

So this is looking at the property location and the surrounding zoning.

3:14

And uh as you can see, this is uh outlined in yellow or outlined in yellow, and it has site in the middle of it.

3:22

So it's a large site.

3:23

Some of you might be familiar with it because uh we've had some rezoning there just directly to its west and to its south, it's RS4.

3:33

Um there's also some multi-family there, the Belmont, but the majority of the property all around this is uh zoned AP agriculture preferred, as is the subject site.

3:45

Uh when we do conditional uses, we always look at what the future uh land use map has for this property, and the property is outlined there in red, and the future land use is agriculture and a uh flood waste sensitive area.

4:04

So the conditional request, uh the applicants are requesting to have a plant nursery and landscape services business on the 34.9 acre site.

4:13

Currently there is a single family dwelling.

4:15

There are two barns and some other smaller storage sheds that exist on this property.

4:22

Um the conditional use for the nursery is something that is allowed um through the zoning ordinance, uh section 3.5B.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████78%
Procedural██████████18%
Code Enforcement██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – June 23, 2026

The Columbus Board of Zoning Appeals met on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 123 Washington Street, Columbus, Indiana. The board heard one new business item requiring a public hearing (conditional use for a plant nursery), approved findings of fact for two previously heard variances, and approved the minutes of the May 26, 2026 meeting. Hearing officer approvals were noted without board discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • One member of the public, Tom (address stated as 1063, possibly incomplete), expressed support for the Sitka Nursery conditional use, stating that the business would be a natural fit for the rural area and would add to the serene nature of the neighborhood. He noted the applicant had addressed staff concerns.

Discussion Items

  • BZA-26-41: Sitka Nursery (Conditional Use) – A request by Wolf Creek Landscape Services, LLC for conditional use approval to operate a greenhouse/plant nursery and landscape services business on a 34.9-acre property (941 North 500 West, Harrison Township) in the Agriculture: Preferred (AP) zoning district. The applicant, Tyler Shore, presented additional details addressing staff concerns: the parking area would have eight spaces (four on each side), the parking dimensions were provided, the greenhouses would be non-permanent hoop houses (32' x 96'), agricultural crop fields would be used for produce (surplus donated to Love Chapel), and the site visibility triangle had been cleared. A letter of support from a neighboring property owner (Lauranda Brian) was provided. The applicant also mentioned working with Chase Point subdivision as a preferred landscaping partner. Board members praised the applicant's preparation.

Key Outcomes

  • BZA-26-41: Sitka Nursery – Approved unanimously. The motion stated that conditions 1 and 4 from the staff report were met, and conditions 2 and 3 were now satisfied based on the additional information provided (e.g., resolved sight line issues, detailed operations).
  • BZA-26-35 (Dominos Development Standards Variance) and BZA-26-38 (Hutchins Crossing Development Standards Variance) – The board approved the findings of fact for both variances as a package in a single motion. Votes were unanimous.
  • Minutes of May 26, 2026 – Approved unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

All right, looks like it's we're ready to go. Yeah, we our applicants are here. Yeah. If it's flashing, is it on or is it off? If it's flashing, it's off. Okay, so yeah. Okay, thank you. You had a cycle. There you go. Yeah. Shop. We'll have to share. Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, I was just saying. I speak well enough. It'll catch on some of us. What hours? Call the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting for the 23rd of June to order. My name's Zach Ellison. I'll be the presiding officer at this hearing. And we meet the fourth Tuesday of each month. The board is comprised of five members. Forum consists of three of the five members, and a motion requires three votes to pass. We'll begin with a roll call of the planning department and the board, staff in attendance this evening. So Austin witted deputy city attorney. Michael Kinder, Zach Govelson. Melissa Begley Planning Department. Thank you so much. Yeah, I know we are members of the board have received this report granted by the planning department staff on each petition to be heard this evening. We'll provide an opportunity for the public to speak. And then we will uh this goes back too far, and then we would take them online. But that's as in the packs now. This is a judicial proceeding and remarks made by petitioners and members of the public are considered testimony. I would like our staff attorney Austin Witt to swear in anyone who wishes to speak as a member of the public or as a petitioner. So please stand and be sworn in. If you intend to speak tonight, please stand and raise your right hand. You saw the swear from the Sesame So deal with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If so, please take out you. I do. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you. All right. And Kyra's gonna start us off on this. On this one uh first hearing is VZA 26-41 Sitka nursery for conditional use. Uh it's uh request for Wolf Creek Landscape Services, LLC uh for a conditional use approval to allow a greenhouse and plant nursery in agriculture uh preferred uh zoning district, and this uh property is located at 941 North 500 West in Harrison Township. Kyra. Well, I apologize. I'm just now noticing it says 39.90, and it should be 34.90 acres. Staff report has it correctly, so all right.

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