The January meeting of the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) Land Use and Development Committee was held at the Indianapolis Art Center Ruth Lilly Library on January 28, 2014.

Committee chair Jim Holland called the meeting to order at 6:06pm. There were only two items on the agenda.

This request is from The Red Room (restaurant/bar above Chelsea's) to allow for the addition of a 2nd floor outdoor lounge above the next door shop to the east, Lucky B. This proposal was first presented for feedback at the November meeting. The added deck area would be built upon new steel beams that would rest on the sidewalls of the building below, so as to not exert any forces on the roof. The deck would be 675 sq. ft. with seating for about 45 people.

In addition to the existing 21 Red Room parking spots at Chelsea's, 9 additional spots would be arranged for north of Bambu, the lot to the east of Lucky B.

The Metropolitan Development staff is in support of the proposal. The BRVA Land Use committee voted to support it.

This request is for an 8200 sq. ft. retail addition to Howald Heating, Air Condition and Plumbing. The design is a one-story retail center extending to the south along the Monon Trail. A large portion of this center would be for an expansion of CrossFit, already located on the Monon Trail in the existing Howald building.

There was a long discussion by the committee members asking for changes to be considered to make the new building fit with the newly-adopted Envision Broad Ripple plan. Along the trail, that plan calls for buildings with small footprints, 50 feet from the centerline of the trail and with a minimum height of 20 feet. To achieve this, the architects would have to push the Monon side of the building to the east, make the building narrower and add a second floor. These changes would add cost and would not be suitable for the CrossFit use and not desirable for retail tenants.

While the committee was generally in favor of this proposal, a decision was delayed until the February meeting to wait until the final drawings are complete. The petitioner agreed to seek a 2-week continuance with the Hearing Examiner, moving that hearing to Feb 27, 2014.

The next public meeting of the committee is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25, 2014, at 6pm at the Art Center.