The June meeting of the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) zoning committee was held on June 27, 2006, at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church. There were three presentations; the first was for the property on the southwest corner of Winthrop and Broad Ripple Avenue: attorney Mike Quinn introduced Eric Stolberg, who outlined the plan to convert Mezzaluna Restaurant into Nothing But Noodles. Two other Nothing But Noodles have recently been opened in the Indianapolis area. There were no zoning issues with this project - the presentation was explanatory only. The building will remain as it is, but the awnings and paint scheme will be changed to match the Nothing But Noodles theme. Eric said that the existing trees are an important part of the location and will therefore remain. The restaurant will have a two-way liquor license that will allow them to serve beer and wine. Work on the conversion should begin in August, with a projected opening date in October.

The second presentation was for the property located on the southwest corner of Guilford Avenue and Westfield Boulevard. Matt & Candice Akers are converting the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop into Dagwood's Deli and Sub Shop. There are currently two Dagwood's in Bloomington. This location will need a parking variance, as there is only public street parking available. Dagwood's will not serve liquor. Plans are to have the deli open in time for the Broad Ripple Street Festival on July 22.

The committee then briefly discussed the Broad Ripple Village Neighborhood Plan that was published by the Metropolitan Development Commission in 1986. In 1997 the commission updated the plan and made it part of the Washington Township Comprehensive Plan. The BRVA is looking into creating a committee to investigate the parking guidelines in those plans and how they apply to the Village in 2006.

The last presentation was given by Van Kirby and designer Conrad Cortellini. It was for the property just north of the Village Pantry at 63rd and College Avenue - the location of Van and Dan Cuts. Van has had a salon in Broad Ripple for many years. His proposed project is to raze the yellow house and build a four-story condominium with office space on the ground floor. Several property neighbors attended the meeting to get answers to their questions and to state their feelings about the new structure. The common concern was the height of the building.

The details of this project are very interesting, yet will not fit in this space. In brief, the plan is to build a green structure. This means it would be as gentle as possible to the surroundings. It would recycle water and generate electricity. I plan to interview Van and Conrad when the project is further along.

The next public meeting of the BRVA zoning committee will be Tuesday, July 25, 2006, at 5:30 P.M. at Broad Ripple United Methodist Church.