Zionsville Plan Commission serves up humble pie

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By Sophie Pappas

They love her pies, but aren’t fans of her plans.

At the Oct. 20 meeting of the Zionsville Plan Commission, the group heard a petition from Kelly Maucere, the owner of My Sugar Pie.  It was a petition the commission ultimately agreed to not vote on and reconsider at the Nov. 17 meeting.

Maucere, who started her pie-baking business seven years ago and opened her storefront location on Cedar Street three years ago, said she needs to prepare for the holiday rush during November and December by adding a refrigeration unit to her building.

“We’ve gone over the last few years from just a small pie shop to a destination spot for Zionsville,” Maucere said of her growing business.

She said she and her staff of three full-time bakers and 10 part-time employees will prepare thousands of pies during the week of Thanksgiving.

“I respectfully request that you allow My Sugar Pie to continue to grow,” she said, requesting for permission to have a 6-foot by 8-foot modular refrigerator on the north west side of the building installed.  This unit would be accessed from inside the building.

Neighbors of My Sugar Pie adamantly oppose this idea. Drew Kogan, the owner of Kogan Antiques and Lighting on Main Street, said he not only runs his business next to My Sugar Pie, but also lives inside his store.

“This is going to block the entrance of my shop,” he said. “I live here and I work here. This is my livelihood.”

While Maucere stood by the fact that the unit would be covered by a tree and sit behind a six-foot fence, Kogan said this tree would only provide coverage six months out of the year.

Commissioner Kevin Schiferl said one of his “biggest regrets” was missing a plan commission meeting last year, when the commission passed Maucere’s first petition for an expansion via the east side of her building. He said the first freezer installed was an “abomination” to the village.

“There’s no fencing around it whatsoever and trash accumulated around it often,” he said.

After commissioners told Maucere that she had almost no chance of getting this second petition passed this month, she agreed to engage in a continuance of this issue and said she will revisit the architectural plans for her refrigeration unit, with the possibility of putting the unit on the east side of the building.

“But you should understand there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be successful,” said commission president Allan Rachles.


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