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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-7766 Staff AnalysisJANUARY 31, 2005 ITEM NO.: D File No.: Z-7766 Owner: Joseph Graham Address: 2923 N. Grant Street Description- Lot 1 and the North Y2 of Lot 2, Block 11, Park View Addition Zoned: R-3 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the area provisions of Section 36- 254 and the fence provisions of Section 36-516 to allow a garage addition with reduced setbacks and a fence/wall which exceeds the maximum height allowed. 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 A. Public Works Issues: 1. The wall/fence should line up with the existing wall on the property immediately to the east. 2. A franchise agreement must be obtained from Public Works. B. Staff Analysis_ The R-3 zoned property at 2923 N. Grant Street is occupied by a one-story frame single family residence. The property is located at the southeast corner of N. Grant Street and Grandview Road. A two -car wide driveway from Grandview Road serves as access. A detached two -car carport is located along the north property line. Two (2) accessory buildings are located within the rear yard, along the east property line. All surrounding properties are zoned R-3 and contain single family residences. The applicant proposes to remove the existing carport structure and two (2) accessory buildings and construct a one-story garage addition on the east end of the residential structure. The garage addition will be approximately 22 feet by 24 feet in size and located two (2) feet from the rear (east) property line and 11 feet from the side (south) property line, maintaining the same rear setback as the existing house. With construction of the garage addition, the existing JANUARY 31, 2005 ITEM NO.: D ICON'T. driveway will be removed, with a new driveway constructed at the northeast corner of the property. The applicant is also proposing to construct a short retaining wall with a six (6) foot high picket fence (not opaque) on it along a portion of the side (north) property line. The retaining wall will have a height of 2.5 feet at it's east end, running west approximately 60 feet back to the existing grade. Therefore, the overall height of the wall/fence structure will be approximately 8.5 feet at the east end and six (6) feet at the west end. The wall/fence structure will be located approximately four (4) feet into the Grandview Road right-of-way in order to align with an existing wall on the property to the east. Section 36-254(d)(2) of the City's Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum side setback of eight (8) feet, and Section 36-254(d)(3) requires a minimum rear setback of 25 feet. Additionally, Section 36-516(e)(1)a. allows a maximum fence height of four (4) feet for fences/walls located between a required building setback line and a street right-of-way. Therefore, the applicant is requesting variances from these ordinance requirements to allow the garage addition with a reduced rear setback and the wall/fence with an increased height. Staff supports the variance for a reduced rear setback associated with the proposed garage addition. Staff feels that the proposed garage addition will not be out of character with the overall neighborhood. Staff believes the garage addition will have no adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the general area. However, according to ordinance requirements, residential driveways must be located at least five (5) feet from property lines. Therefore, the applicant must relocate the drive to meet the minimum setback from the rear (east) property line. Staff does not support the wall/fence height variance, as requested. Staff does not support the proposed height of the wall/fence structure, nor its location in the right-of-way. Staff believes the proposed location of the fence would result in the potential for future interference with utility and Public Works street maintenance operations. Staff could support a wall/fence with a maximum overall height of six (6) feet located on the side (north) property line. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested rear setback variance, subject to the proposed driveway being located at least five (5) feet back from the rear (east) property line. Staff recommends denial of the requested wall/fence height variance, as filed. 4 JANUARY 31, 2005 ITEM NO.: D (CON'T. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (DECEMBER 20, 2004) Staff informed the Board that the applicant requested to defer the application to the January 31, 2005 Agenda. Staff supported the deferral request. The item was placed on the Consent Agenda and deferred to the January 31, 2005 Agenda by a vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (JANUARY 31, 2005) Joseph Graham was present, representing the application. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the application with a recommendation of approval of the setback variance, and a recommendation of denial of the fence/wall variance. Joseph Graham addressed the Board in support of the application. He explained his proposal for the fence/wall construction. He noted that the proposed fence/wall would align with an existing wall to the east and explained Chairman Gray asked what the purpose was for the fence/wall in the right-of-way. Mr. Graham explained that he was trying to maximize the rear yard area. The issue was briefly discussed. Chairman Gray asked Mr. Graham if he would amend his application to move the proposed driveway 5 feet back from the east property line. Mr. Graham noted that he would amend the application accordingly. Chairman Gray expressed concern with allowing the fence/wall in the right-of-way. Mr. Graham noted that the proposed fence/wall would not be out of character with the neighborhood. He stated that there would probably be no need for the additional right-of-way in the future. The issue was briefly discussed. Mr. Graham amended the application to place the proposed fence/wall on the north property line, with a maximum overall height of six (6) feet. There was a motion to approve the amended application. The motion passed by a vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent. The amended application was approved. 3 -7 November 15, 2004 Board of Adjustment: The purpose of this letter is to request three property variances for the residence at 2923 N. Grant. Our goal for these projects is to provide green space in our "back / side" yard so that our two small children have a place to run and play. The current green space in our back yard is very limited and primarily not visible as there are no windows along the very back Eastern part of the house. It is our desire to remove the carport and incorporate it into green grass that is fenced and in view of the main part of the house. It is also important to note the property has a sunroom with two walls of arched windows that would overlook the proposed green space and deck rather than the carport and deck. 1. Variance at the back of the property to build a two -car garage with entry from Grandview. This garage would be 22 x 24 feet and would have a second floor with a small room to serve as a playroom or small office. 2. Variance on the Grandview side of the property to build a short retaining wall to level out the back yard. The wall would begin at a height of zero feet at the concrete walkway and grow to approximately 2.5 feet toward the back of the property ending at the proposed driveway. The variance request is to build this wall 4 feet into the easement, which is approximately 8 feet currently. The property has no sidewalk or curb. 3. Variance to build a 6 -foot fence to contain our two small children (ages 3 and 5), rather than the 4 -foot limit current zoning requires. We appreciate your consideration to these matters. S; _-I/,?- el -V ^_ Joseph L. Graham