OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – July 16, 2026

City Council — Thursday, July 16, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, July 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:57

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I need line of that's the freaking moving.

0:02

So I was talking to I was like, you know, we'll we'll talk tomorrow when it's not as Mike at the time.

0:12

Well they just moved into the district.

0:14

So I guess you got a roll and uh you can walk on like football football's the one sport where you can.

0:24

Yeah, there's not we don't really turn anybody away.

0:27

Unless you're not over there to Matt.

0:34

They're small.

0:35

Everything is different like what they do for the variance process is actually genius.

0:41

Because if you file state variants, if it's basically they have someone so it'll be similar to like you would first and they will kick it out to the members.

0:52

They sign off on a lot of stuff before it even goes in front of the commission.

0:56

Yeah, I heard that you change that whole process.

0:59

Yeah.

0:59

So now we'll in front of the whole stuff.

1:01

Yeah, so sometimes we only have to go up.

1:06

You're required to put spring words about the pool.

1:10

Seriously.

1:11

So any time we have something like that for that.

1:20

That stuff gets approved.

1:21

We don't like we don't have to make the trip to that.

1:47

I took a shower before I got this.

2:27

Trying to vote.

2:32

Sign law is uh we say that if the others can have a roll at all.

2:42

Uh show her located on the step to the next one.

2:52

So yes, we've got the Using Steve basically received the sign that you're song.

3:07

So yes, it's a simple service access.

3:26

We have a system processing first thing.

4:11

So we got the sheet as part of the key.

4:19

Again, that's definitely the exception, not the rule.

4:36

I'd like to call the July 16, 2026 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals to order.

4:41

Will the secretary please call the role?

4:44

Miss Cabill, here.

4:46

Miss Kasha.

4:47

Here.

4:48

Miss Payne.

4:49

Here.

4:49

Mr.

4:50

Rudolph?

4:50

Here.

4:51

Mr.

4:51

Shetler.

4:52

Here.

4:53

Mr.

4:53

Zayner.

4:54

Here.

4:54

Mr.

4:54

Petke.

4:55

Here.

4:56

Whoa, full house.

4:59

All right.

5:00

Must be a blue moon out there.

5:02

Yeah.

5:02

All right.

5:03

May I have a motion to approve the memorandum of the May meeting, please.

5:06

So move.

5:08

Second.

5:09

We have a motion and a second.

5:10

Will the secretary please call the roll?

5:12

Ms.

5:12

Cavill?

5:13

Yes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Variance█████████████████████████████████████████████87%
Community Engagement██3%
Water And Wastewater Management██3%
Procedural█2%
Public Safety█2%
Housing█2%
Economic Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – July 16, 2026

The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Board of Zoning Appeals met on July 16, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex. All seven members were present. The board approved the minutes of the May 2026 meeting unanimously. Three petitions were withdrawn prior to the meeting: SPU-2026-003 (4100 Covert Ave), VAR-2026-030 (3300 Edgewood Dr), and VAR-2026-041 (1113 W Columbia St). The board heard six variance petitions, with public testimony on two. Decisions included five unanimous approvals and one split vote with conditions.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of May 2026 Meeting Minutes: Motion approved unanimously (7-0), with Member Petke thanking Joy for presiding in his absence.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • VAR-2026-038 (Turning Point Church signs): Stephanie Venard, a resident at 9520 Farmington Drive, opposed the new electronic sign. She cited concerns about light pollution, intrusion on the rural character, safety on the newly reconfigured Lloyd Expressway curve, and distraction for elderly drivers. She requested specific restrictions on brightness and timing if approved.
  • VAR-2026-042 (601 MLK Blvd parking expansion): Shona Jarbo, president of the Bellmute Beard Neighborhood Association, opposed the parking expansion. She raised concerns about increased impervious surfaces, stormwater runoff, and the area’s history of flooding, noting that the site has no on-site drainage and is near residential neighborhoods.

Discussion Items

  • VAR-2026-017 – 11216 Walnut Road (Jacob Hunt): Request to legalize and construct accessory structures (pole barn) exceeding residence size, reduce setbacks, widen drive, and allow two access drives. Applicant stated the barn is for personal car restoration. No remonstrators. Unanimous approval (7-0).
  • VAR-2026-038 – 9710 & 9800 Middle Mount Vernon Road (Turning Point Church): Request to allow three signs (increase from one), increase pole sign height to 18 ft, electronic message sign size to 32 sq ft, and total signage to 135 sq ft. Applicant Kip (Hust Signs) explained the church wants to modernize and reduce the existing copy board size. Remonstrator Stephanie Venard opposed. Discussion focused on dimming and operating hours. Motion to approve included a condition: sign must dim to 5% brightness or go dark from 8 PM to 6 AM. Approved 5-2 (Members Payne and Kasha dissenting). The applicant was required to provide personal contact information to the remonstrator.
  • VAR-2026-039 – 308 & 312 South Woods Avenue (David Holder): Request to allow accessory structures exceeding residence size (add 384 sq ft shed). Applicant stated personal use, neighbor support. No remonstrators. Unanimous approval (7-0).
  • VAR-2026-040 – 2335 North Green River Road (C&S Inc. / Custom Sign & Engineering): Request to increase number of on-premises signs from three to seven for a gas station. Applicant Scott Elpers noted that two signs for a now-closed car wash may be removed, but wanted to keep the application for future use. Discussion about corporate pressure to upgrade branding. No remonstrators. Unanimous approval (7-0).
  • VAR-2026-042 – 601 Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (601 MLK Properties LLC): Request to reduce rear and side yard green space to expand commercial parking. Applicant Jim Morley explained the existing parking pattern and need for additional spaces due to business growth. Remonstrator Shona Jarbo opposed due to stormwater concerns. Applicant noted the project did not trigger stormwater detention requirements (under 2,950 sq ft, threshold 10,000 sq ft). City engineer had approved erosion control plan. Unanimous approval (7-0).
  • VAR-2026-043 – 4519 Claremont Avenue (Larry Cornett): Request to allow gravel parking, eliminate backing-out restrictions, and reduce required parking spaces from four to zero to legalize existing conditions for a triplex. Applicant Matt Layman noted the property was purchased in April 2025 and the owner is working to bring it into compliance. Discussion about maintaining existing parking spaces. Motion to approve with condition that the owner maintain four current parking spaces in the right-of-way as shown on the site plan. Approved 6-1 (Member Rudolph dissented, objecting to reducing required parking to zero).

Key Outcomes

  • VAR-2026-017: Approved (7-0). No conditions.
  • VAR-2026-038: Approved with condition (5-2). Condition: electronic message sign must be dimmed to 5% brightness or turned dark from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Applicant to provide contact information to remonstrator.
  • VAR-2026-039: Approved (7-0). No conditions.
  • VAR-2026-040: Approved (7-0). No conditions.
  • VAR-2026-042: Approved (7-0). No conditions.
  • VAR-2026-043: Approved with condition (6-1). Condition: property owner shall maintain four existing parking spaces in the right-of-way as depicted on the site plan.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 3:00 PM in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex.

Meeting Transcript

I need line of that's the freaking moving. So I was talking to I was like, you know, we'll we'll talk tomorrow when it's not as Mike at the time. Well they just moved into the district. So I guess you got a roll and uh you can walk on like football football's the one sport where you can. Yeah, there's not we don't really turn anybody away. Unless you're not over there to Matt. They're small. Everything is different like what they do for the variance process is actually genius. Because if you file state variants, if it's basically they have someone so it'll be similar to like you would first and they will kick it out to the members. They sign off on a lot of stuff before it even goes in front of the commission. Yeah, I heard that you change that whole process. Yeah. So now we'll in front of the whole stuff. Yeah, so sometimes we only have to go up. You're required to put spring words about the pool. Seriously. So any time we have something like that for that. That stuff gets approved. We don't like we don't have to make the trip to that. I took a shower before I got this. Trying to vote. Sign law is uh we say that if the others can have a roll at all. Uh show her located on the step to the next one. So yes, we've got the Using Steve basically received the sign that you're song. So yes, it's a simple service access. We have a system processing first thing. So we got the sheet as part of the key. Again, that's definitely the exception, not the rule. I'd like to call the July 16, 2026 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals to order. Will the secretary please call the role? Miss Cabill, here. Miss Kasha. Here. Miss Payne. Here. Mr. Rudolph? Here. Mr. Shetler. Here. Mr. Zayner. Here. Mr. Petke. Here. Whoa, full house. All right. Must be a blue moon out there.

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