By John Howell

Guaranty Bank  got a go-ahead from the Batesville Planning Commission with approval July 3 of site and building design standards for its new building on Highway 6 East.

AERC, pllc hit a snag with commissioners at the June 23 Planning Commission meeting when a misnamed street on the site plans had created a misunderstanding among commissioners about the location proposed for the new structure. The planning commission called the July 3 meeting to approve the corrected version. The new bank building will be located at Highway 6 at Lange Road, the street that also allows access to Tractor Supply.

In other business at the special called meeting, commissioners approved a variance request from Baha Hamed for Beauty Supply at 192 Keating Road. Hamed had added a sign for the business onto the pylon sign on Highway 6 without a variance. When he learned he was in violation of signage restrictions, he took it down, code administrator Pam Comer said.

“He has used all the signage that was available for his building,” Comer told commissioners. City zoning regulations set a maximum number of feet allowed for signage based on the number of square feet in a business.

“It would require a variance,” Comer told commissioners, to allow placement of an additional sign on the pylon. Variances were granted to allow Burkes and Tri-Lakes to place signs on the pylon after their building signs had used the maximum space allowed by the zoning code, Comer said.

Commissioners approved Hamed’s request by unanimous vote.

Also approved by unanimous vote was an after-the-fact variance request from Alderman Stan Harrison who had varied from the approved color in repainting the Miles Agency building on the downtown Square.

“It’s on the building already,” Comer said. Originally approved was a “grayish white” that did not look good when applied, “so they went with black,” she said.

John Britt withdrew his request for a variance that would allow him to construct an RV garage after he learned that he would not need the variance if he remodeled an existing garage that would allow the new structure to be built a sufficient distance from his neighbor’s property. Britt had sought the variance when his original plan conflicted with setback restrictions in the zoning code.

Commissioners Kim LaVergne, Judy Savage, Billy Downs, Willie King, Barbara Bruce, Dave Billingsley and Terry Townsend attended the special meeting along with chairman Richard Corson.