The owner of The GOAT tavern has withdrawn a request for a use variance to operate the establishment in a residentially zoned area and replaced it with a petition to rezone the site from residential to B2 business zoning.
The GOAT has been closed since April when the Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals denied a use variance for the site. In July, a Hamilton County judge threw out the denial and ordered the BZA to hold a new hearing, ruling that the BZA didn’t follow Open Door laws in finalizing its decision.
The BZA appealed the judge’s order, but with the variance request withdrawn, the appeal could be dismissed.
According to Carmel’s zoning ordinance, B2 zoning exists to “provide primarily for heavy commercial office uses to be developed as a unit or on individual parcels.” It is intended to provide an area where “heavy businesses may locate with minimal requirements.”
Carmel’s Technical Advisory Committee is set to review the rezone request at its 9 a.m. Aug. 18 virtual meeting.
Carmel’s Dept. of Community Services mistakenly allowed The GOAT to open in July 2020 without a variance. The site had previously been home to Bub’s Cafe, which received permission to operate only between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Soon after the tavern opened, neighbors complained about noise, litter and patrons of the establishment urinating and vomiting on private property. The complaints sharply decreased after The GOAT owners agreed to an extensive list of commitments to address the complaints, but BZA members who voted against the variance didn’t believe the problems had been adequately addressed.
The GOAT, 220 2nd St. SW, is the only parcel with residential zoning along the Monon Greenway in Carmel’s downtown and Midtown areas.
