City officials have given an "I do" to two wedding venues.
During recent Seymour Plan Commission and Seymour Board of Zoning Appeals meetings, attorney Jeff Lorenzo spoke on behalf of Brian and Jenny Stuckwisch of Three Bin Farm LLC to request a land use variance at 5602 E. County Road 100N for the use as a wedding reception/party/dinner venue.
During recent Seymour Plan Commission and Seymour City council meetings, Tim Lynch requested a rezone of property in the 3700 block of North U.S. 31 to construct a new building for the use of a wedding venue. That will go from R-S (single-family residential) to C-2 (commercial).
The plan commission gave favorable recommendations for both proposals, and the BZA and council were unanimous on their respective final votes.
Lorenzo said the Stuckwisches had been using about 5 acres of their 80-acre property to host a variety of events.
Since that recently included a catered dinner, the Jackson County Health Department received word and first contacted Jackson County Building Commissioner Conner Barnette, who then referred the agency to Seymour Building Commissioner Jeremy Gray since the property is on the edge of the city’s 2-mile fringe.
"We’re not building buildings. We’re not doing anything different from what we’re currently doing," Lorenzo told the plan commission. "All we want to do is get square with the city so we can get square with the health department. That’s it."
Lorenzo said the city’s zoning code doesn’t speak to wedding and banquet facilities, so he thought C-2 was the category that worked best.
Gray agreed a variance was best.
"It’s just while they are doing what they want to do," Gray said. "If they decide to sell the 80-acre farm and do something else, it goes back. If they don’t want to continue to do (the event venue), it goes back to R-S. I don’t feel like we need to rezone that out there to C-2."
The city’s approval allows the Stuckwisches to obtain the appropriate permitting from the health department for catered dinners.
"We host many types of events, from graduation/confirmation parties to baby/wedding showers," Jenny Stuckwisch said. "We love sharing our farm with the community."
The large barn, outdoor space and bin bar are among the places people can use on their farm.
"I drove out to the property. That’s a beautiful setup you guys have," plan commission member Dan Robison told the Stuckwisches. "I hope I get invited to an event out there sometime."
Lynch presented images and site plans for his proposed wedding venue.
The only questions from the plan commission related to seating capacity (150 to 200) and a parking area on the south end of the property (making sure the Indiana Department of Environmental Management approves).
"It’s definitely something we’ve looked at and have the capability of pushing the venue back farther with the hillside once we start moving some dirt and see what we can do there in that lower corner," Lynch said of the parking area.
Now that he has approval from the city, Lynch said he will submit information to the state and move forward with a obtaining a building permit.