Minutes-4/21/1999

Tiffin City Board of Adjustment City of Tiffin April 21, 1999 A meeting of the Tiffin City Board of Adjustment was brought to order by Chair Roger Janssen at 6:30 p.m., April 21, 1999 at the Tiffin Fire Station. Board of Adjustment Members present: Roger Janssen, Pam Brown, Mary Boyd, Betty Madden and Cathy Kee. Absent: None. Also present: Mary Murphy and Mayor Glenn Potter. A Public Hearing was opened at 6:30 p.m. for any interested citizen to give input either in favor of or against a proposal to provide a variance to Slim’s Tavern for a kitchen addition. Greg Stevens and Terry Miller were present to explain why they needed this variance for the tavern. Slim’s is a grandfathered commercial business located in a single-family residential area. The Planning and Zoning Commission has addressed this same question and have recommended that this request pass to the Board of Adjustment. A zoning change would require additional parking, fire and building code improvements for the business. Dan O’Halloran of the Planning and Zoning Commission was present to explain why the commission would encourage that the board deny variance to Slim’s Tavern. Dan explained that the applicant has not been convincing in showing hardship. The enlarged kitchen would provide greater convenience as the current kitchen is very small, and the enlarged kitchen would provide greater profitability for the business. Neither convenience nor profitability is valid reason for approving variances. Member Madden indicated that she felt increasing the kitchen would provide greater convenience for the business and that this would be the same reason she might wish to increase the size of a personal kitchen. She also commented that she could not understand what a larger kitchen had to do with earlier mentioned parking requirements. Dan explained that a zoning change for Slim’s would require that new ordinance parking requirements be met by Slim’s. He also said that nonconforming use could continue, but that nonconforming uses are not to be encouraged to survive. Terry Miller indicated that this would be an improvement for the kitchen area, and he could not understand why anyone would want to discourage improvements. Greg Steven’s said that he is in a difficult situation because his situation has changed. Greg indicated that the city has told him that if fire safety conditions were not improved in the kitchen that his liquor permit renewal would be denied, and yet the city was stopping his attempts to improve safety conditions by improving the kitchen. Mayor Potter indicated that the city had never said this to Greg Stevens. However, Fire Chief Tom Bigelow has expressed concern for updates needed at the business. Mary Murphy was present to say that she thought this would be an improvement to the area. Greg Stevens said he would like to fix this area and place a sidewalk that would be parallel to the volleyball area. Member Brown has if the business was currently in fire safety compliance. Steven responded that he would assume he was not. Miller explained that a new fire safety system could cost as much as $2,500.00, and they would like to incorporate this work into new efforts, not into what is not working now. Boyd indicated that allowing this new addition might make it safer to eat here, would please fire personnel and help keep open a good place to eat.