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www.newbuffalotimes.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021
Local Government Meetings New Buffalo Times
Democracy Requires Transparency
CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL LOU O’DONNELL, IV. MARK ROBERTSON, JOHN HUMPHREY, ROGER LIJESKI, BRIAN FLANAGAN City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD CHUCK HEIT, PRESIDENT HEATHER BLACK, VICE PRESIDENT JOHN HASKINS, TREASURER LISA WERNER, SECRETARY JOYCE LANTZ, TRUSTEE FRANK MARGRO, TRUSTEE PATRICIA NEWSTON, TRUSTEE CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM GRAND BEACH VILLAGE OF GRAND BEACH COUNCIL Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM
New Buffalo planners recommend revised site plan for proposed restaurant
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BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
embers of the City of New Buffalo Planning Commission approved and recommended a revised site plan for a restaurant that’s being proposed in downtown New Buffalo to the New Buffalo City Council at a special meeting Tuesday, Nov. 16. Members approved the recommendation in a 4-0 vote, with planner Bill McCollum, who’s serving as architect for the project, abstaining. The applicant, Damon Marano, was requesting site plan approval for the proposed restaurant at 1 N. Whittaker Street, which is in the Central Business District (CBD). Earlier this year, the location had been presented to the Planning Commission for a special use permit for outside seating by another applicant. The new site plan that was being presented that night, however, was not requesting any outdoor seating. McCollum said the new plan differs from the previous one, which would’ve involved pulling the façade of the building back about 12 feet so there’s outdoor seating but on city property. The site plan being presented that evening involved maintaining the existing perimeter of the building. New mechanical units on the roof will be screened, so they can’t be seen. A series of windows will also go all the way around the building.
The existing building will contain he approved of the project but was four commercial spaces, with a still concerned about the additional pharmacy already occupying one parking that was described as being of these spaces. McCollum said the “not concrete,” such as if the parking restaurant will occupy 50 percent of lot gets sold. the first floor. Chair Paul Billingslea said that Beer l McCollum said that the owner also Church also requires some of that G wants to do another seating area in parking in the Farina lot W the basement, where to accommodate their Since the new there will also be a prep seating, adding that he p site plan involves kitchen. doesn’t think they can fi space being Since the new site plan allow Beer Church to do added in the involves space being M basement, it was that but tell someone added in the basement, R being proposed else they can’t. it was being proposed t that evening that that evening that 12 i 12 additional e added additional spaces be w spaces be used that r used out of the Farina out of the Farina parking is p parking lot parking lot (located an issue p (located across across the street on in New the street on w U.S. 12/Buffalo Street). Buffalo that’s “bad going U.S. 12/Buffalo a The lot currently has on worse,” and that the o Street). The lot 90 spaces, with Beer city is looking at ways to ( currently has 90 Church being involved spaces, with Beer alleviate it. for some of those spaces. Church being “I’d love to see a He said total seating involved for some c building get used and capacity for the of those spaces. cleaned up a little bit restaurant, including the i it could definitely use downstairs and upstairs, d some updating,” he said. is 320, which is “based on the code.” f Planners recommended to the city “So, what we’re asking for is site council that the rezoning of property plan approval to bump the façade up t on S. Willard Street from General to where it already is, the basement a Commercial District to R-1 Single restaurant and this additional parking w Family Residential. over here – so there’s three things to Planners reelected Billingslea to be s be considered,” McCollum said. p chair of the Planning Commission. Planner Don Stoneburner said that b B
A law is valuable, not because it is a law, but because there is right in it. — Henry Ward Beecher
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