WARSAW — During the first Warsaw Board of Zoning Appeals meeting of the year held Monday night, Jan. 27, the board approved both cases in less than 20 minutes.

The first case was a variance request made by Randy and Jessie Slone to allow an accessory structure without a primary structure at what was formerly 513 W. Market St.

Senior Planner Justin Taylor explained that the petitioners own the property to the east of the site, but the lots cannot be combined because they are separated by an alley. Taylor estimated that the potential lot has been vacant since around the 1990s.

Taylor said that the opinion of the planning department is that the variance request should be approved. If approved, he stated that neighbor concerns should be met.

While no neighbors were present at the meeting to object to the case, there were two objections on file that were presented to the board.

One of the objections had to do with the fact that the site was previously a paint store and the neighbor was concerned about contamination. But that complaint does not apply to BZA concerns. The other objection was made by Phil and Matha Klatt, 600 W. Market St. In a letter, the said they opposed the request in order to maintain the residential appearance of the neighborhood.

Board members agreed that the residential appearance of the neighborhood should be maintained. But instead of denying the request, they chose to put stipulations on the approval.

“Their existing property is nice and neat and clean,” stated Board Member Tammy Dalton. “I’m basing my judgment … that they’ll maintain the exterior building in the same way.”

The board then voted to approve the request, with stipulations that that building would be constructed with vinyl siding, windows and residential-style doors.

The second case was a variance request made by TImber Rock Construction to allow a 15′ rear setback at 2271 N. Detroit St.

Taylor explained that the petitioner’s property has wetland and floodplain delineations, which would make it difficult to place new structures. This setback would apply to only one building on the property, not any of the existing properties.

“It is the opinion of the planning department that this variance should be approved as presented,” said Taylor. “This site has challenges related to floodplains and wetlands that make additional development difficult.

The board approved this request.

During the meeting, the board also held an election of officers for the new year. The board voted to keep the officers the same as last year. Tom Allen will serve as board president with Rick Keeven, who was absent from tonight’s meeting, serving as vice president.