Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Residential Setback Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wildwood board approves variance to replace and expand deck at 2281 Centier Drive
Summary
The City of Wildwood Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance allowing a replacement and 4-foot expansion of a rear deck at 2281 Centier Drive, reducing the required rear-yard setback from 30 feet to 12 feet for the project.
The City of Wildwood Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance on Sept. 9 allowing a homeowner at 2281 Centier Drive to replace and expand an existing deck so it would sit 12 feet from the rear property line instead of the 30 feet required under the city’s R-4 setback standard.
The board granted the variance after hearing that the existing house was built under an earlier St. Louis County planned environment unit (PEU) setback and is legally nonconforming under Wildwood rules, and after the Department of Planning recommended approval as a minor variance with minimal neighborhood impact.
Planner Robin Keefe said the lot is a quarter-acre corner parcel in the Lafayette Trails subdivision and that the house was built under St. Louis County rules before incorporation. Keefe told the board that because the PEU used older County R-4 setback distances, the residence is legally nonconforming and any additions must now meet the city’s R-4 rear-yard setback of 30 feet. Keefe said the department “is supportive of this request. We believe there is a bit of a hardship” and that the site characteristics and existing tree buffer minimize impacts to neighbors.
Matthew McCoy, the drafter for Jones Home Improvement speaking for the petitioner, described the work as a deck replacement and a modest expansion. “The deck’s falling down. We’re gonna replace the holes, the post going up to the existing roof structure. Shore that up because it’s the posts are starting to kinda sink and the deck’s starting to rot,” McCoy said, adding the new deck would measure roughly 14 by 16 feet (about 224 square feet) and sit about 8 feet above grade. He said the petitioner prefers to extend the deck rather than reduce its size to meet the current setback.
Keefe told the board that the most affected neighbor is shielded by tall coniferous trees and that the existing pattern of setbacks when the house was built supports a minor deviation under the city ordinance. After board questions, a motion to approve carried unanimously: members Lee, Bertolino, Reiner and Chair Kevin Lux each voted yes.
The variance authorizes a rear-yard setback of 12 feet in lieu of the 30-foot requirement for the deck replacement and expansion. The petitioner has six months to obtain permits or the variance will expire.
The board’s decision followed the hearing procedures set out by the city; no written opposition was recorded in the department file and the department entered its report and related materials into the record prior to the vote.
