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Board of Adjustment denies request to reduce side setback at 752 Cedar Street
Summary
The Laramie Board of Adjustment declined to grant a variance that would have reduced the southern side setback at 752 Cedar Street from 5 feet to 1 foot, leaving the lot subject to the current 5-foot requirement.
The Laramie Board of Adjustment declined to grant a variance that would have reduced the required southern side yard setback at 752 Cedar Street from 5 feet to 1 foot.
Staff reported the parcel is 24 feet wide and that with a 5-foot southern setback the buildable width would be about 14 feet, which staff said would make the applicant's proposal for two detached units "barely impractical." Phil, a planning staff member, said the parcel was platted before the current Unified Development Code and that the requested one-foot southern setback is limited to the side bordering Gibbon Street; he recommended approval, concluding the request met the variance findings.
The applicant's representatives described the proposal as two starter homes on an infill lot. Justin (property owner) and Randy Turfaire (Justin's father) told the board the site is narrow and that constructing two units without a reduced setback would be extremely difficult. "It's an infill lot. If nothing's built on it, it'll remain empty," Randy told the board.
Board members debated whether granting the variance would set a precedent for allowing development on very narrow lots and whether the proposal would alter the neighborhood character. Commissioners noted older houses in the Westside area already sit closer to property lines, but at least one member said those are historic conditions and expressed concern about allowing new construction to replicate that pattern.
A motion to approve the variance was made and seconded. The clerk conducted a roll-call vote; the record shows three yes votes, two no votes and two absences. Because a majority of the entire seven-member board is required to approve a variance, staff noted the motion failed. The board concluded its business on the item with no variance granted.
The denial leaves the parcel subject to the existing 5-foot side-yard setback and means the applicant will need to revise development plans or pursue other code-compliant options.
