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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9652 BOA Action Letter 021122JANUARY 20, 2022 ITEM NO. 2 Z-9652 1 File No.:     Z-9652 Owners:    Anna Celeste Gibson Applicant:    Ben Rush Address:     1615 N Taylor Legal Description:  Lot 9, Block 29 Mountain Park Addition, Addition of City of Little Rock, Pulaski County Arkansas Zoned:     R-2 Present Use:   Single-family Residence Proposed Use:   Single-family Residence Variance(s) Requested:  Request from the area regulations of Sec. 36-156 to allow an accessory structure to occupy more than 30% coverage of the rear yard. Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented as per the attached letter. STAFF REPORT A. Planning and Development Civil Engineering: No Comment. B. Buffering and Landscape comments: In October 2020 the City adopted the “Heights Landscape Design Overlay District,” requiring installation of one tree per 40 linear feet of street frontage within the Heights District Boundary, applicable to [among other types] residential construction in excess of 600 square feet. C. Building Codes: The required fire separation distance (building to property line) prescribed by the building code terminates at five (5) feet. Buildings are allowed to be closer than five JANUARY 20, 2022 ITEM NO. 2 Z-9652 2 5) feet if they have properly constructed fire walls which provide the requisite one 1) hour fire resistance rating. When buildings are five (5) feet or more from the property line, the requirement no longer applies to the wall itself, only the projections such as eaves or overhangs. Openings such as doors and windows are limited when the exterior wall is three (3) feet from the property line, and are prohibited when the exterior wall is less than three (3) feet from the line. There is no restriction on openings when the exterior wall is more than three (3) feet from the property line. Contact the City of Little Rock Building Codes at 371-4832 for additional details. D. Staff Analysis: The property at 1615 N Taylor is in a predominantly R-2 zoned neighborhood, within the Heights Landscape Design Overlay District. This overlay district generally has no bearing on the subject variance requests. The subject property is located on the east side of N Taylor, south of P Street and occupied by a one-story frame single-family residence. The adjacent and surrounding properties are also occupied by single family homes. The rear yard of the property is accessed from the alley connecting to P Street and the front of the home faces N Taylor. The rear yard is currently occupied by a 12x20 workshop and an existing concrete slab used for parking. The applicant is proposing to build a carport on the existing concrete slab. This new structure is stated to be 22.5-feet x 24-feet and open on all four sides. This proposed improvement will follow the current code requirements with the exception of the rear yard coverage provisions. The rear yard space is approximately 1,250 square feet in area. The carport as indicated on the site plan will cover 462 square feet of the rear yard area. The existing workshop occupies 240 square feet of the rear yard. This proposed and existing structure will yield approximately 49 percent coverage of the rear yard exceeding the maximum code allowance of 30 percent. Sec. 36-156(a)(2)(c) states, “Accessory buildings or structures in the R-1 through R-4A districts shall not be located closer than sixty (60) feet to the front property line, fifteen (15) feet from a street sideline and may not occupy more than thirty (30) percent of the required rear yard area...” Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the existing accessory structure with a minimal expansion to exceed the coverage requirements to a maximum 49%. Staff is supportive of the requested variance to allow an accessory structure to occupy more than 30% of the rear yard area. Staff views the request as reasonable. The proposed carport will not be out of character with other accessory structures JANUARY 20, 2022 ITEM NO. 2 Z-9652 3 throughout this neighborhood and believes an increased area coverage will have no adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the general area. Staff finds the requests to generally be in conformance with the development pattern in this area, and based on the above assessment and analysis, finds the requested variance to be reasonable. E. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends approval of the rear yard coverage to a maximum of 49% subject to the following: 1. A building permit being obtained for all construction. 2. Install trees, if deemed applicable at the time of building permitting, in accordance with Heights Landscape Design Overlay District requirements. Board of Adjustment (January 20, 2022) The applicant was present via WebEx. There were no objectors present via WebEx or in person. Staff presented the application to the Commission and stated it recommended the rear yard coverage variance be approved with conditions as per the staff report. There was a consent motion to approve the application. The application was approved on consent. The vote was 5 ayes, 0 nays, 0 absent.