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NEWS RELEASE
Date: July 13, 2021
Contact: Nancy Heck (317)571-2474 media@carmel.in.gov
Release: Immediate
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Carmel BZA considering appeal of Court order in case regarding GOAT zoning variance
Carmel, IN – On Monday, July 12, the Hamilton Superior Court issued an order vacating the vote of the Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals’ (BZA) decision to deny a use variance for the Greatest of All Taverns (GOAT). Judge Jonathan Brown held that the BZA’s written findings of fact were made outside of a public meeting, which he stated was a violation of the Indiana Open Door Law. In his order, Judge Brown essentially repeated the position taken in the advisory opinion of the Public Access Counselor. The BZA’s decision to deny the GOAT’s use variance was made at a public meeting after a full and open public hearing. While the Indiana Code requires the BZA to make written findings of fact, it does not specify how those findings are to be made. The Order remands the matter to the BZA to hold a new hearing in compliance with Indiana’s Open Door Law.
The BZA is weighing its options about how to proceed and has 30 days to appeal Judge Brown’s decision. The Order stated that while waiting for the new hearing, the GOAT is subject to the existing zoning laws for 220 2nd Street SW, which is currently zoned R-2 Residential. A business, such as the GOAT, cannot be operated on a property that is zoned Residential until a use variance is granted by the BZA.
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