Sept. 11, 2025 — The Trophy Club Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4-1 on Thursday to grant a variance allowing an attached, street-facing garage at 213 Inverness Drive, a change the homeowners said is needed to improve accessibility for aging family members.

The board convened at 6 p.m. for a public hearing on Case ZBA-25-004. Matt Cox, director of community development for the Town of Trophy Club, told the board that council earlier this year amended an ordinance to shorten the waiting period that had prevented the applicants from returning after a December 2024 denial, and that staff recommended approval of the revised plans.

The variance request would allow an attached garage facing the public right of way in an R-11 single-family district; Cox cited sections noted in the application (Section 14.02.153 and Section 14.02.253) and explained that the applicants previously submitted a detached-garage plan that met the town's accessory-structure rules and was stamped approved by staff. "The following structures and uses shall be permitted as accessory to the principal structure provided that none shall be a source of income...detached private garage in connection with any use...provided that any detached garage which faces a street be located a minimum of 45 feet from the front property line," Cox read from the code, and said the detached plan met the 75-foot setback the town staff measured.

Applicants Mike and Tanya Goh told the board the attached option would improve daily accessibility and circulation for Tanya Goh's aging parents. "It makes it so much easier for us to maneuver with walkers or...get someone into a wheelchair," Mike Goh said during his presentation. He said the couple had sought neighbors' support since the prior hearing and submitted signed letters from immediate neighbors.

During public comment, resident Pat Kiefer urged the board to uphold the zoning, arguing the R-11 rules and the accessory-structure provisions prohibit forward-facing attached garages in the district. Kiefer cited the town's deliberations in 2019 and the board's December 2024 decision, warned that approving the variance could set a precedent affecting homes in similarly zoned areas, and said the applicants' current situation resulted from their own choices after the December denial.

Neighbor Joel Kiele testified in support of the Gohs, saying immediate adjacent neighbors had been consulted and that the attached plan would better meet the family's needs. Board members asked technical questions about dimensions, sight lines and floodplain issues; staff and the applicants responded that the approved detached plan met town and hydrology requirements and that the property lies in FEMA Zone X.

Cox and other staff members provided clarifications during the discussion: the approved detached plan had been reviewed and stamped by staff; the town's minimum interior garage dimension is 21 by 22 feet; the revised attached plan increases the garage width from about 22.5 feet to about 27 feet to allow space for mobility aids; and the measured distance from the front property line to the front of the garage was described by staff as "right at 75 feet." The board also heard that the detached option approved by staff would have placed a detached garage at least 45 feet from the front property line, per the code language Cox read.

After discussion, a board member moved to approve Case ZBA-25-004 "as presented"; another board member seconded the motion. The board voted 4-1 to approve the variance.

The decision allows the Gohs to build the attached, street-facing garage to the specifications presented at the hearing. The record for the case will reflect the board's vote and the materials submitted at the public hearing.