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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-9122 Staff AnalysisMARCH 28, 2016 ITEM NO.: 4 File No.: Z-9122 Owner/Applicant: Lori Sattler Address: 1824 Georgia Avenue Description: Southwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Ohio Street Zoned: R-2 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the fence provisions of Section 36-516 to allow a fence 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 U Public Works Issues: No Comments. Staff Analysis: The R-2 zoned property at 1824 Georgia Avenue is occupied by a one-story frame single family residence. The property is located at the southwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Ohio Street. A concrete driveway at the southeast corner of the lot serves as access. A small metal storage building is located within the west portion of the property. The property is comprised of the north half of Lots 1, 2 and 3, Block 4, Riffel and Rhoton's Forest Park Highlands Addition. The lots were originally platted running north to south (front to back). Therefore the front property line is the north property line, running along Ohio Street and not the east property line. The applicant recently had a six (6) foot high wood fence constructed along a portion of the north property line, as noted on the attached site plan. The fence actually extends into the right-of-way of Ohio Street by approximately one (1) foot. It is the applicant's proposal to fence the entire west yard area, also noted on the attached site plan. The applicant notes that she paid for half of the fence installation, and the contractor disappeared with her money after only constructing the portion of the fence along the north property line. The applicant states that the portion of the fence which was constructed was poorly done. MARCH 28, 2016 ITEM NO.: 4 CON'T. Section 36-516(e)(1)a. of the City's Zoning Ordinance allows a maximum fence height of four (4) feet for fences located between building setback lines and street rights -of -way (street fronting property lines). A maximum fence height of six (6) feet is allowed elsewhere on a residential lot. Therefore, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow that portion of the existing and proposed six (6) foot high wood fence which is located within the north 25 feet of the lot (front yard area) along Ohio Street. Staff does not support the requested fence height variance. Staffs objection is based primarily on the orientation of the residential lots immediately to the west and east along Ohio Street. The proposed fence is located extending into the front yard area of these neighboring lots. It essentially "boxes in" the adjacent lots' front yard areas, blocking the homes' visibility from the roadway and surrounding properties. Staff believes it would be appropriate to support a fence height variance for a six (6) foot high wood fence extending to the west from the northwest corner of the house, enclosing the remainder of the west yard area. In this case, the fence would be located approximately 21 feet back from the north (front) property line. This fence would align with the north wall of the house and other residential structures to the east and west. If the applicant were willing to amend the application accordingly, staff could recommend approval. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends denial of the requested fence height variance. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT (March 28, 2016) Lori Sattler was present, representing the application. There were no objectors present. Staff presented the application with a recommendation of denial. Lori Sattler addressed the Board in support of the application. She explained that she needed the taller fence because she had three (3) dogs and that there was a lot of pedestrian traffic along Ohio Street. She noted that her fence contractor ran off with her money without finishing the job. She stated that the fence contractor told her that she did not need a permit for the fence. Rajesh Mehta asked what portion of the fence had been constructed. Ms. Sattler noted that only the portion along the north property line (Ohio Street) had been constructed. Carolyn Lindsey Polk asked Ms. Sattler if she would be willing to move the fence back to the northwest corner of the house. Ms. Sattler stated that she would be fine with moving the fence back and amended the application accordingly. Staff noted that the revision would be for the fence to start at the northwest corner of the house (21 feet 2 MARCH 28, 2016 ITEM NO.: 4 CON'T. back from the north property line) and run west to the west (side) property line, and then run south to enclose the remainder of the rear yard area. There was a brief discussion regarding a time frame for removal of the existing fence section along the north property line. Staff noted that sixty (60) days should be sufficient time to remove the fence section. There was a motion to approve the application as amended and noted above, with 60 days granted for the removal of the existing fence section along the north property line. The motion passed by a vote of 5 ayes, 0 nays and 0 absent. The amended application was approved.