HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6411 Staff AnalysisOctober 27, 1997
Item No.:
File No.: Z-6411
Owner: Charles Summerhill and
Alma Viscara-Summerhill
Address: 8201 Pine Summit Court
Description- Lot 17, Pine Hill Homes
Zoned- R-2
Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the
area regulations of Section 36-156
to permit a satellite dish with a
reduced front yard setback.
Justification: Applicant's Statement: Several
months ago, we signed a contract
with Radio Shack for the
installation on PrimeStar Satellite
Services. Our decision was based
on the availability of Spanish
channels for our children. This is
very important to us as our
household is both of Hispanic and
American descent. The local cable
company or other satellite service
did not offer the accessibility to
Spanish networks to us.
Therefore, a subcontractor for
Radio Shack and/or PrimeStar came
to our residence and started to
look for the best location. This
subcontractor indicated that even
if we did not have any trees in our
backyard, that our neighbor's trees
from next door and primarily from
across the street would make it
impossible for the satellite dish
to be installed in our backyard.
He also checked both to the left
and the right of our house and the
required window for reception was
also blocked by neighbor's trees.
He indicated that the only place
where the satellite dish could be
installed was in the middle of our
front yard, about nine feet from
the street, away from the other
underground telephone cables, etc.
October 27, 1997
Item No.: 6 (Cont.)
Present Use of Propert :
Proposed Use of Property:
Staff Report:
A. Public 'works Issues:
The installation was completed,
however, we were not informed of a
variance requirement for such as
installation.
Single Family residence
Single Family residence
Satellite dish must be placed so as not to create a sight
hazard for neighbors backing out of driveways.
B. Staff Analysis:
The R-2 zoned property located at 8201 Pine Summit Court is
occupied by a new, one-story brick and frame single-family
residence. Pine Hill Homes is a new single family
subdivision located on the eastern perimeter of the John
Barrow Neighborhood. The occupants of 8201 Pine Summit
Court recently had a DSS satellite receiving dish installed
in the front yard of the property. Satellite dishes are
defined as accessory structures by the city code and must
meet accessory structure setback requirements. Section 36-
156(a)(2)(c) states that such structures must maintain a
minimum front yard setback of 60 feet in the R-2 District.
The satellite dish at 8201 Pine Summit Court has a front
yard setback of 10-11 feet. Once notified of the violation,
the applicant filed for a variance.
Staff believes the variance request to be reasonable. The
satellite dish will only function if it has a proper line -
of -sight to receive a signal. There are many trees in the
rear yard of this property, as well as on the surrounding
properties, which would interfere with the signal if the
dish were relocated. There is a restriction against
removing trees from the rear yards of these properties. The
restriction was put in place at the time the subdivision was
approved. The applicants are of Hispanic heritage and
Spanish language channels are available only by satellite.
The DSS satellite dish itself is very unobtrusive. The dish
has a diameter of approximately 3 feet and is mounted on a
pole which is only 3-3.5 feet tall.
The pole and dish do stand out somewhat because there are no
trees or shrubs in this area of the front yard to provide
any screening. Staff believes the visual appearance of the
satellite dish could be mitigated by the planting of 2-3
shrubs between the dish and the street. These should not
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October 27, 1997
Item No.: 6 (Cont
interfere with the reception and would be a visual
enhancement.
C. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the requested setback variance
subject to compliance with the following conditions:
1. The applicant must obtain a building permit for the
satellite dish.
2. The applicant should plant 2-3 shrubs between the
satellite dish and the street to mitigate the visual
impact. Staff recommends that the shrubs be a minimum
of 2 feet tall at planting.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (OCTOBER 27, 1997)
The applicant, Alma Viscara-Summerhill, was present. There were
no objectors present. Staff presented the item and a
recommendation of approval subject to compliance with the two
conditions noted in the "Staff Recommendation" above. Ms.
Viscara-Summerhill offered no additional comments.
The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved subject
to compliance with the two conditions noted in the staff
recommendation. The vote was 7 ayes, 0 noes, 0 absent and 2 open
positions.
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