HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-7053 Staff AnalysisJune 25, 2001
Item No.: 12
File No.: Z-7053
Owner: Janna and Jerry Bishop
Address• 5021 Hawthorne Street
Description: Lot 7, Block 13, Newton's Addition
and East 15 feet of Van Buren
Street closed by Ordinance No.
18,422.
Zoned: R-2
Variance Requested: Variances are requested from the
area regulations of Section 36-254
and the easement provisions of
Section 36-11.
Justification: The applicant's justification is
presented in an attached letter.
Present Use of Proper Single Family
Pr000sed Use of Property: Single Family
Staff Report:
A. Public Works Issues:
No issues.
B. Staff Analysis:
The R-2 zoned property located at 5021 Hawthorne Street is
occupied by a two-story, brick and frame, single-family
residence. The applicants propose to substantially remodel
the home including: expanding the living space of the house
on both the east and west sides; replacing an existing,
detached garage with a garage addition onto the house; and
expanding the front porch to the width of the house with a
second floor above the porch. The proposed remodeling has
generated several variances. In preparation for this
project, the applicants recently went through the process of
having a portion of the Van Buren Street right-of-way
adjacent to their lot abandoned. This 15 feet of abandoned
June 25, 2001
Item No.: 12 (Cont.)
right-of-way'has been added to the applicant's property.
However, when the right-of-way was abandoned, the area of
the former right-of-way was retained for utility and
drainage easement.
The existing front porch now has a front yard setback of
16.5 feet. The Code requires a front yard setback of 25
feet. The applicants propose to widen the porch,
maintaining the 16.5 foot front yard setback and to
construct stars extending an additional 5.4 feet into the
setback. The addition onto the west side of the house,
including the garage, extends into the newly acquired former
right-of-way. Section 36-11 prohibits construction over or
in an easement. The garage addition extends to a point 4
feet from the new property line on the Van Buren perimeter.
The code requires a side yard setback of 6.5 feet for this
lot.
Staff is supportive of the requested variances. Allowing
the widening of the front porch while maintaining the
existing front yard setback should have no effect on
adjacent properties. The steps extending out from the porch
will be uncovered. Hawthorne Street has an 80 foot right-
of-way. The porch is actually located 45 feet from the curb
of the street and the stairs will end 40± feet from the
curb. The porch/stair expansion does not appear to be
incompatible with the existing neighborhood.
Allowing the easement variance is reasonable. All utility
companies and Public Works have approved the project. In
actuality, the applicants could very well have had the
right-of-way "exclusively abandoned" which would have
included abandoning the easements within the 15 feet.
The reduced side yard setback for the garage is minor in
nature. The reduced setback from 6.5 feet to 4 feet is for
only the width of the garage. The 28 foot width of the
garage is a relatively small portion of the 140 foot deep
lot and appears to be even smaller because of the broad
Hawthorne Street right-of-way. The garage is located 17
feet from the curb of Van Buren Street. The homes in this
block all have side yard relationships to Van Buren Street;
fronting onto either Hawthorne or Country Club. The typical
lot in Newton's Addition is 50 feet in width; requiring a 5
foot side yard setback. The 4 feet requested by the
applicants for the garage is not much below the typical side
yard setback in the neighborhood.
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June 25, 2001
Item No.: 12 (Cont.
C. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the requested setback and
easement variances, as filed.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT:
(JUNE 25, 2001)
The applicant was present. There were no objectors present.
Staff presented the item and a recommendation of approval.
The applicant offered no additional comments.
The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and approved by a vote
of 3 ayes, 0 noes and 2 absent.
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