Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - August 20, 2025
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Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - August 20, 2025
The Lake County Board of Zoning Appeals met on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at approximately 5:30 PM in the Commissioner's Courtroom. The meeting was called to order with a quorum of three board members present. The board approved four variance requests, all related to accessory buildings for personal use, after hearing from petitioners and confirming no public opposition.
Consent Calendar
- Unanimous approval of the June 2025 meeting minutes.
Communications
- The board welcomed Kenneth Woltrum as the new Building Planning Administrator, replacing Christina Kuzma.
Discussion Items
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Petition 25-V-29: Kelvin Gowan and Glenn Vandery requested a variance to allow an accessory building (detached garage) in the side yard rather than the rear yard at 14615 West 154th Place, West Creek Township. The property has a deep lot (72+ feet), and placing the building in the rear would limit pool space and increase driveway maintenance costs. The proposed building is a stick-frame structure with a frost foundation, siding, and shingles, compliant with all other UDO standards. The homeowners' association and an adjacent neighbor expressed support. The board noted that private covenants are not considered in their decision. Staff confirmed all other requirements were met. The variance was approved unanimously.
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Petitions 25-V-30, 25-V-31, and 25-V-32: All three variances pertain to the same property at 15120 Magoon Street, West Creek Township, owned by Tim Kodak and represented by attorney Sword Law PC. The property is a 7.33-acre corner lot with a pond and heavy vegetation. The petitioner requested:
- 25-V-30: A variance to allow a 60-foot by 96-foot accessory building (5,760 sq ft) where the maximum floor area permitted is 3,267 sq ft.
- 25-V-31: A variance to allow a building height of 27 feet 10.5 inches where the maximum permitted is 22 feet.
- 25-V-32: A variance to allow the accessory building in the front yard (corner lot) since the rear yard is constrained by the septic system and pond location. The attorney explained that the building would be heavily screened by existing vegetation, located approximately 60 feet from 151st Avenue, and not visible from the road. The board discussed the property's layout and noted recent traffic changes due to closure of the nearby 151st Street intersection. No public comments were made. All three variances were approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Petition 25-V-29: Approved unanimously (3-0) to allow an accessory building in the side yard for personal use.
- Petition 25-V-30: Approved unanimously (3-0) to allow a 60x96 accessory building (5,760 sq ft) for personal use.
- Petition 25-V-31: Approved unanimously (3-0) to allow an accessory building with an overall height of 27 feet 10.5 inches.
- Petition 25-V-32: Approved unanimously (3-0) to allow the accessory building in the front yard for personal use.
- The meeting was adjourned after the final vote.
Meeting Transcript
Do you want to see an agenda? Yes, you're gonna make the announcement, right? Okay. Alright, I'm ready. We gotta wait because it's gonna wait another 30 seconds until we need it. Is it 530? We want to go ahead and call it order, I think. All right. Uh good evening, everyone. We will call the Lake County Boarding Zone Board of Zoning Appeals meeting to order for Wednesday, August 20th, 2025, and we will start with the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God in the visible with liberty and justice for all. The following is the emergency exit announcement in case of an emergency, exit the commissioner's courtroom, proceed to the stairs, go to the second floor and exit the building. Do not enter an elevator in an emergency. If you require assistance, a plan commission employee will escort or assist you. Please silence any cell phones during this meeting. If you receive a call during this meeting, please excuse yourself with as little disruption as possible to these proceedings. Thank you. Um record of those present. Um and with that, I always like Steve make an announcement with us being just only three. Just to clarify for the petitioners this evening, you're you're had the right to a full board. Um five members is the normal major for majority of the board. Um so that means three votes out of that five member board has to take place for action either be approved or denied. I'm sure nobody wants to be denied this evening. You do have the right to ask for a deferral till the next meeting, the follow up following month's meeting to have the full scope of the board. So any action taken today for your approvals that you're hoping for would make mean the full three members of the body here of the board would have to approve your request. So I don't know if anybody wants to pull back their petition until they have a full five-member board here. If you want to proceed with our bare minimum quorum here of the three members to my left and right. We'll proceed. You want to proceed? Okay. Thank you. Okay. All right. Um, I do know from my no tear we have June minutes to approve. If there's no corrections, can we have a motion for that, please? All motion approved June minutes as well. Motion for approval of June minutes uh and a second. Any questions on that motion? Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye, opposed, same sign. June minutes approved. Communications communications I did in the plan commissioning. Want to welcome Kenneth Woltrum. He's our new uh building planning administrator. Planning administrator. Um he's replaced Christina Kuzma, who's been gone for about a year and a half now. So we've got we're really glad to have him aboard. He's been a welcome addition to our our staff, and I'm sure you'll find him very pleasant to work with. Um, and that concludes communications. Okay.
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