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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6605 Staff AnalysisDecember 21, 1998 Item No.• 8 File No.: Z-6605 Owner: Arkansas Cedar Homes, Inc. Address: 2500 Creekside Drive Description: Lot 38, Sandpiper Creek Addition Zoned: R-2 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the fence height restrictions of Section 36-516 to permit construction of a 6 foot tall fence within the setback adjacent to the street. Justification: Applicant's Statement: I wish to apply for a waiver to locate a 6 foot privacy fence, on the property line, along the south 180 feet of the property which lies adjacent to Bowman Road. The only rational reason I can think for restricting the fence building line to the building line instead of the property line is to avoid sight limitations on corner lots for vehicular traffic. The addition of a fence along the property line would not cause any reduction of sight limitations. There are many trees and one sign closer to the corner than I wish to build the privacy fence. Most of the distance, the natural grade of the lot is much above the street level. Bowman Road and Creekside Drive are both significantly wider than at the intersection allowing almost unlimited sight distance on either street. By allowing the fence to be constructed on the property line, much greater use can be made of the back yard. Present Use of Propert : Single Family Proposed Use of Property: Single Family December 21, 1998 Item No.: 8 Cont. Staff Report: A. Public works Issues: See Traffic engineering revised drawing (Bill Henry 340- 4856) for proposed location of the fence, to avoid sight distance problem at the intersection. B. Staff Analysis: The R-2 zoned property located at 2500 Creekside Drive is occupied by a 2 -story, brick and frame single family residence. The property is for sale and the proposed owners wish to enclose the rear yard with a 6' tall wood privacy fence. The property is a corner lot and has a side yard relationship to Bowman Road. Section 36-516 limits the height of fences erected within required setbacks adjacent to streets to 4 feet. Staff believes the variance request to be reasonable. Bowman Road is developing a heavy traffic load that will only continue to increase as it is constructed to its future arterial standards. Once the street is widened and improved, the fence will sit back of the curb 12-15 feet. The City Traffic Engineer has made a slight modification to the proposed fence location to address sight distance concerns at the intersection of Bowman and Creekside. Allowing the increased fence height from 4 feet to 6 feet should have no impact on adjacent properties or on traffic in the street. The applicant should review the Bill of Assurance to determine if the proposed fence is a violation. Some Bills of Assurance prohibit the placement of fences across platted building lines adjacent to streets. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested fence variance subject to compliance with the following conditions: 1. The fence must be placed as recommended by Traffic Engineering to avoid sight distance problems at the intersection. 2. The fence must be constructed with the finished side facing outward. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (DECEMBER 21, 1998) The applicant was present. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval subject 2 December 21, 1998 Item No.: 8 Cont. to compliance with the conditions outlined in the "Staff Recommendation" above. The applicant offered no additional comments. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved as recommended by staff. The vote was 4 ayes, 0 noes, 0 absent and 1 open position. 3