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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOA Action Letter - Approved With Conditions 072622JULY 21, 2022 ITEM NO. 5 Z-9694 1 File No.: Z-9694 Owners: Bret Barnett Revocable Trust Applicant: Yeary Lindsey Architects: Jim Yeary Address: 1832 Beechwood Street Legal Description: LOT 135 & 136, Shadowlawn Addition, to the 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 provisions of Sec. 36-254 to allow a reduced side yard and rear yard setback in an R-2 District. Justification: The applicant’s justification is presented as per the attached letter dated May 17, 2022 STAFF REPORT A. Planning and Development Civil Engineering Comments: No Comments. 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 Comments: 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 (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. JULY 21, 2022 ITEM NO. 5 (CON’T.) Z-9694 2 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 (501)371-4832 for additional details. D. Staff Analysis: The property at 1832 Beechwood Street 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 north of Cantrell Rd and south of Club Road and occupies the southwest corner of Beechwood and R Streets, (shown as Echo Pass on the survey). Built in 1920 the existing 2-story masonry home has undergone various improvements throughout the years typical of the neighborhood. R Street primarily functions as cut-thru between Beechwood on the east and Shadowlawn to the west and only serves the garages or service areas of four homes that front the two main streets. The applicant is proposing additional renovations to the home including a new drive at the front of the property connecting Echo Pass to Beechwood St. The south of the home will expand to include a lower-level master suite while the west improvements will include a new screened in porch, patio, and den addition. A new garage will also be constructed at the north and west of the property and accessed from Echo Pass. The garage is proposed to cross the rear yard setback and a small a portion of the north side yard setback. As part of these improvements an existing carport connected to the primary residence will be removed. The survey indicates that the house was constructed with an encroachment on the 25-foot rear setback line and the carport further extending the home across a 4-foot easement to within approximately 2-feet of the rear property line. The proposed garage will still extend the primary residence across the 25-foot rear yard setback but provide less of an encroachment than the existing carport. The sketch provided by the applicant indicates that west side of the garage will be located 4.5-feet from the rear property line. In addition, the garage will also encroach on the north side yard setback adjacent to R Street. The den addition, new screened-in porch, and patio will be aligned with the existing western wall of the home which was built approximately 4.5 feet across the rear setback line. These new additions are proposed to be partially constructed within this setback with the southern end of patio crossing the setback line approximately 13.5 feet. The side yard setbacks for this property are required to be 8-feet in width and the proposed garage will cross the north set back line 11-inches at its northeast corner. The new master suite will encroach on the south 8-foot side yard setback by 2-feet at the southeast corner of the addition while the southwest corner is shown to encroach 1-foot 4-inches and be located 6-feet 8-inches from the south property line. JULY 21, 2022 ITEM NO. 5 (CON’T.) Z-9694 3 Section 36-254(d)(3) states “There shall be a rear yard setback having a depth of not less than twenty-five (25) feet. “Therefore, the applicant requests a variance to allow the extension of the primary structure into the rear yard setback to no more than 19-feet 5-inches reducing the setback to 5-feet 7-inches. Section 36-254(d)(2) states “There shall be a side yard set-back on each side of the building having a width of not less than ten (10) percent of the average width of the lot, not to exceed eight (8) feet.” Therefore, the applicant requests variances to allow the extension of the primary structure into the side yard setbacks to no more than 11-inches to the north reducing the setback adjacent to R Street to 7-feet 1-inch and to allow the master suite addition to encroach into the south side yard 2-feet reducing the setback to 6-feet adjacent to the south property line. Staff views the rear and side yard setback variances of this existing small space as minor compared with the buildable capacity available to the property owner. Additionally, Staff is supportive of the requested variance associated with garage and home addition construction. The improvements will not be out of character with many other lots in this general area. There are numerous structures in this neighborhood which have reduced rear and/or side yard setbacks. The development will be constructed within the north, west and south property lines away from the front of the house and the main street frontage. The additional backyard development will be less intrusive than the existing carport and presents no foreseeable adverse effects to the neighboring residences. Based the analysis above, staff believes the subject proposal is in keeping with the character and scale of the neighborhood and views the variance requests as reasonable. E. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the rear and side yard variances as per the above staff analysis and attached site plan, subject to a building permit being obtained for all construction, with the following conditions: 1. A building permit being obtained for all construction. 2. Compliance with the Building Codes requirements as noted in paragraph C. of the Staff report. 3. Install trees, if deemed applicable at the time of building permitting, in accordance with Heights Landscape Design Overlay District requirements. Board of Adjustment (JULY 21, 2022) The applicant was present. There were no persons registered in opposition. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval as outlined in the “Staff Recommendation” above. There was no further discussion. The item remained on the Consent Agenda for approval. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. The vote was 5 ayes, 0 noes and 0 absent.