HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9381 Staff AnalysisJANUARY 28, 2019
ITEM NO.: 1
File No.:
Owner:
Applicant:
Address:
Description:
Zoned,
Z-9381
Brent and Heather Schmiegelow Trust
Heather Schmiegelow
2702 N. Fillmore Street
Lot 7 and part of Lot 8, Block 18, Park View Addition
R-2
Variance Requested: Variances are requested from the area provisions of Section
36-254 to allow a new residence with reduced front, side and
rear setbacks.
Justification: The applicant's justification is presented in an attached letter.
Present Use of Property: Single Family Residential
Proposed Use of Property: Single Family Residential
STAFF REPORT
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Public Works Issues:
1. The proposed driveway appears to be approximately 36 feet. City of Little Rock
Code of Ordinances Sec. 30-43 prohibits residential driveways wider than 20
feet. Public Works staff supports the variance if the driveway otherwise conforms
to the Zoning Codes.
Staff Analysis:
The R-2 zoned property located at 2702 N. Fillmore Street is occupied by a one-
story brick and frame single family residence. The property is located at the
northwest corner of N. Fillmore Street and "Y" Street. A two -car carport and storage
building is located at the southwest corner of the lot, with a covered walkway
connection to the residence. A concrete driveway from "Y" Street serves as access
to the carport structure.
The applicant proposes to remove the existing residence from the site and construct
a new two-story residence, as noted on the attached site plan. The proposed
structure will include a one-story attached three -car garage at the west end of the
residence. A driveway from "Y" Street will serve the garage portion of the residence.
The front wall of the proposed residence will be located 23.12 feet back from the
front (east) property line, with steps being approximately 18 feet back from the front
property line. The proposed residence will be located five (5) feet back from the rear
(west) property line. The proposed residence will maintain a 5.5 foot setback from
JANUARY 28, 2018
ITEM NO.: 1 (CON'T.) Z-9381
the north side property line. The main footprint of the proposed residence will be
located approximately 6.3 feet back from the south side property line. A small
portion of the structure (bump -out) will be located approximately five (5) feet back
from the south side property line, with a chimney extending out another 1.3 feet.
Section 36-254(d)(1) of the City's Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum front
setback of 25 feet for this R-2 zoned lot. Section 36-254(d)(2) requires a minimum
side setback of 5.5 feet, based on the 55 foot lot width. Section 36-254(d)(3)
requires a minimum rear setback of 25 feet. Therefore, the applicant is requesting
variances from these ordinance standards to allow the proposed residence with
reduced front, side and rear setbacks.
Staff supports the requested variances for reduced setbacks. Staff views the
request as reasonable. The proposed residence with reduced setbacks will not be
out of character with other residences within this neighborhood. The proposed lot
coverage of the residence with attached garage has very little difference from a
residence with a detached garage. If the garage portion of the residence were
detached, it would cover 40 percent of the required rear yard (rear 25 feet of the lot)
and it would comply with all setback requirements. The proposed lot massing is very
similar to numerous other lots within this neighborhood. Staff believes the proposed
residence with reduced setbacks will have no adverse impact on the adjacent
properties or the general area.
C. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the requested setback variances, subject to
compliance with the Public Works requirement as noted in paragraph A. of the staff
report.
Board of Adjustment
(January 28, 2019)
The applicant was present. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the item
and a recommendation of approval as outlined in the "staff recommendation" above.
There was no further discussion. The item was placed on the consent agenda and
approved as recommended by staff, including all staff comments and conditions. The
vote was 3 ayes, 0 noes, 1 recusal (Lindsey -Polk) and 1 open position.
2
December 10, 2018
To the Department of Planning and Development:
This is the cover letter for an application for a residential zoning variance for the lot
located at 2702 N. Fillmore, Little Rock, AR 72207. Included with this cover letter is the
survey for the N. Fillmore lot.
The proposed plans are new construction of a residential house on the northwest corner
of N. Fillmore and Y Streets with an attached 3 car garage. The front of the house is
located along N. Fillmore and the side load garage is located along Y Street. The
proposed dimensions of the house are 74 feet by 42.5 feet. The proposed dimensions
of the garage are 36 feet by 24 feet.
The proposed setbacks from the property lines are as follows:
rear setback of 5 feet from rear property line — the justifications are explained
below
front setback of feet — the variance requested for the front is to accommodate
only the stairs coming down from the front porch; the front porch is on the 25 feet
setback line; no variance from the set back is needed for the front porch
setback.along north edge of property line is 5 feet from the property line due to
the proposed location of a small 4 -person hot tub and this side setback is
consistent with the character of the neighborhood, as explained in more detail
below
The justifications for the side setbacks and the front setback are listed above. There
are three reasons justifying the rear setback. First, there is little to no parking along the
street. Second, the total sf coverage of the lot with the attached garage is about the
same coverage if the garage were detached. And third, the proposed rear setback is in
line with the character of the neighborhood. Regarding limited parking, the proposed
size of the garage is due to the fact that the garage and driveway will be the only
spaces for parking. We have children who will be of driving age and driving cars, so we
will have 4 cars or more. There is little to no place to park on Fillmore or Y Streets. The
front yard along Fillmore is roughly 13 feet above street elevation, making parking in the
front of the house along Fillmore not possible. Y Street is a narrow street, more like the
width of an alley, significantly limiting parking along the side of the house on Y Street.
The second justification for the rear setback is the total coverage of the lot with an
attached garage compared to a detached garage being nearly the same coverage. If
the garage were detached and located the minimum number of feet from the house, the
owners would include a roof to cover the walkway between the house and the detached
garage. The coverage of the buildings and structures, including the covered walkway
between the detached garage and the house, would be about the same coverage on
the lot as an attached garage. The proposed house footprint is 2582 sf, the proposed
front porch and covered patio are 280 sf, and the footprint of the proposed attached
garage is 875 sf. The total sf coverage is 3,737. With the property dimensions 140' by
55', or 7,700 sf, the coverage of the lot is 48% with the proposed house, front porch,
covered patio, and attached garage. If we detached the garage and had a covered
walkway instead, the total sf coverage of the lot would be about 46%, nearly equal to
the coverage of the proposed house with an attached garage.
The fact that these requested setbacks along the rear and side of the property are
consistent with the existing character of the neighborhood justifies the rear setback and
setback along the side. The following adjacent and nearby lots were granted variances
from the setback ordinances: (1) the lot located on the northeast corner of Y Street and
N. Pierce Street immediately behind this lot; (2) the lot at the southeast corner of Y
Street and N. Pierce caddy corner behind this lot on N. Fillmore; and (3) the lot next
door to the north of this N. Fillmore lot. In addition, other nearby lots on N. Fillmore
have also been granted variances from the setbacks.
Other information provided along with the application:
1. Proposed parking areas are the driveway off of Y Street and inside the garage.
2. Points of ingress and egress are the side load garage along Y Street, the back
door into the house, and the front door along N. Fillmore.
3. Dimensions of drives are 32 feet by 17 feet.
4. The property dimensions 140' by 55'
5. On-site fire hydrants = none existing, none proposed
6. On-site water systems, existing and proposed = city water
Please contact me if you need any additional information or have any questions. Thank
you for your consideration of this application for a variance from the setbacks.
Respectfully,
Heather Schmiegelow
479-871-4883