Variance for shed and front parking at 503 West Wheldon Avenue approved; staff said no alternative location available

At a Goshen City meeting, officials approved a developmental variance for 503 West Wheldon Avenue that will allow a roughly 48-square-foot shed to be placed 20 feet from Michigan Avenue where 25 feet is required and authorize a two-stall concrete parking area set 5 feet from the Michigan Avenue property line where 25 feet is normally required.

Holzinger presented the staff report and said the small single-family lot in an R-2 zone has no other reasonable location for the parking or the shed; staff recommended approval. "I think the big thing here is that there's nowhere else for these things to go," Holzinger said.

Boyd Yoder, who identified himself for the record with an address at 605 Skyview Drive, spoke in favor of improving the property and confirmed the existing gravel parking pad currently sits off the rear alleyway.

A commissioner noted photographs in the packet that show a neighboring nonconforming structure closer to the street and discussed the context of nonconforming lots. One member moved to approve the request with staff stipulations; the motion was seconded and members voted 'aye.' The transcript records the approval but does not provide a full, named roll-call in the recorded text.

The approval includes staff stipulations attached to the motion; the transcript does not enumerate those stipulations verbatim during the recorded discussion. The item concluded with an approved variance; any necessary permits or engineering clearances were not detailed in the transcript.