A Fishers landscaping business owned by Indianapolis-based Irvington Group hopes to expand with a move to Lawrence and is in the process of purchasing a lot off Pendleton Pike that has been on the market for about 20 years.
The Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance for the site June 18, allowing the developer to use gravel rather than asphalt or concrete as the primary ground cover for the site at 9559 Pendleton Pike, behind Belle Tire and Marathon and next to Cohron’s Manufactured Homes.
Daniel T. Kozlowski, president of Irvington Group, told the board that the site is challenging for most commercial businesses because it is an unusual shape and is not visible from Pendleton Pike. But, he said, it will work well for the landscaping business that his son operates, because it doesn’t need the kind of visibility most businesses rely on.
Kozlowski said there is an access easement for the property from Pendleton Pike next to the gas station and they plan to install a privacy fence for the entire property to reduce impact on neighboring lots.
He said there are several arguments in favor of gravel rather than asphalt for the site, which has a retention pond for water runoff from surrounding properties.
“All of those hardtack services, all of those paved surfaces, drain into this pond,” he said. “If we put hardtack down on our site, it’s going to throw off the engineering. I don’t know if that means it won’t work anymore. I don’t know anything. All I know is, (the pond) absorbs water, and if we can have gravel, it will not change the engineering that was originally designed for that pond.”
Kozlowski said gravel also is used regularly in landscaping work, so having a working sample on site is good for business. And, he said, the privacy fence will hide the site from anyone who might object to the aesthetics. He added that one of the neighboring properties also has gravel rather than asphalt.
Some board members expressed concern about making an exception to the site’s zoning regulations, but the board ultimately voted unanimously in favor of granting the variance.
Kozlowski said that, with the variance in place, he will move forward with negotiating the purchase of the property.
The next Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals meeting is 6 p.m. July 16 at the Lawrence Government Center, 9001 E. 59th St. All Lawrence government meetings are livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page, facebook.com/cityoflawrencein.
