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Variance for 752 Cedar Street fails after 3-2 vote; four affirmative votes required by state law
Summary
The Board of Adjustments, sitting as the Planning Commission, considered a variance to reduce the southern setback at 752 Cedar Street from 5 feet to 1 foot to allow two detached units on a 24-foot-wide lot. Staff recommended approval but the motion failed 3-2 because state statute requires four affirmative votes for variances.
The Board of Adjustments, meeting as the Laramie Planning Commission on Aug. 11, considered a variance request for 752 Cedar Street that would have reduced the required southern setback in the R-2 District from 5 feet to 1 foot.
Staff explained the lot is a narrow, 24-foot-wide parcel platted before current code standards and is adjacent to an unusually wide right of way along Gibbon Street. Joseph, a City of Laramie planner, said strict application of the setback would leave only about 14 feet of buildable width; the proposed 1-foot setback was the minimum needed for a functional building footprint. The variance would have allowed construction of two detached units that otherwise met code requirements.
Staff recommended approval, concluding the lot width and right-of-way conditions are unique and that the reduced setback would not negatively affect neighborhood character or the public welfare. Despite that recommendation, Joseph reported, “the variance motion failed on a 3 to 2 vote as 4 affirmative votes are required for variances, per state statute.”
Because the motion failed, no variance was granted and the applicant cannot proceed under the reduced setback as presented. The transcript does not record names of commissioners or the individual vote positions; the commission recorded a 3–2 tally against the proposal and noted statutory requirement for four affirmative votes for variances.
