A Hamilton County Superior Court judge overturned the Noblesville Board of Zoning Appeals’ decision to approve Beaver Materials’ request for a variance to extract sand and gravel on 68 acres near the Cherry Tree Meadows neighborhood in Noblesville Oct. 9.
Superior Court 1 Judge Michael Casati ruled that the Noblesville BZA was in “error” when it approved Beaver Materials’ request to put a commercial gravel mine in an R-1 Residential District in a 3-2 vote Oct. 2, 2023, stating the BZA’s conclusions were “unreasonable.”
The BZA was required to show the variance application met five requirements by the Indiana Unified Development Ordinance, which are:
- The variance will not be injurious to public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community.
- The use and value of the area adjacent to the property included in the variance will not be affected in a substantially adverse manner.
- The need for the variance arises from some condition peculiar to the property involved.
- The strict application of the terms of the zoning ordinance will constitute an unnecessary hardship if applied to the property for which the variance is sought.
- The approval does not interfere substantially with the comprehensive plan adopted under the 500 series of this chapter.
Casati ruled that it failed to meet all five requirements…