Board OKs smaller garage addition for West 12th Street homeowner to store boat

The La Porte Board of Zoning Appeals approved a reduced accessory building size and a setback variance Thursday to allow Kimberly Cornell to expand a detached garage at her West 12th Street property to store a boat.

Cornell asked to add a 24-by-16-foot addition to an existing 22-by-26-foot detached garage and to reduce the required rear-yard setback from 10 feet to 6 feet. Planning staff reviewed neighborhood patterns and recommended a smaller compromise size — 832 square feet total — in order to match surrounding accessory structures.

Cornell told the board the addition would store a 16-foot boat on a 21½-foot trailer and would be accessed from the existing concrete area behind the house. Patricia Day, a neighbor at 907 West Twelfth Street, spoke in favor, saying Cornell had maintained her yard and that she supported the expansion to keep the boat out of neighbors’ sight lines.

Staff explained the 832-square-foot recommendation equates roughly to a three-car garage footprint and is intended to limit massing while meeting the petitioner’s storage needs. The board voted to approve the setback request and the modified accessory-building area of 832 square feet; the approval requires the petitioner to pursue the usual building-permit verification process.

The board’s approval included the setback reduction from 10 feet to 6 feet for the detached accessory building and the maximum accessory building area set at 832 square feet. City staff noted that even with the approved size, the applicant must verify lot coverage and utility constraints before building and that the building must meet applicable permit and site requirements.

Cornell said the extra space will keep the boat off the street and reduce what she called an “eyesore.” The board approved the motion during the public hearing with no opposing votes recorded.