Board approves 11-foot side-yard variance for Oak Park Lane accessory gym

The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance allowing a detached accessory structure to encroach 11 feet into the 20-foot side-yard setback for the property at 15973 Oak Park Lane. The structure is described by the petitioner as a gymnasium-style building intended primarily for indoor recreation for the family's children.

Petitioner Jared Hauser told the board he and his wife, Carly Hauser, bought the roughly 1-acre property in March and planned the accessory building as a partial indoor basketball area for their children. Hauser said a tree-preservation easement on the north side of the lot prevented placing the building to the rear as originally intended, so the design was moved to the eastern side and now requires the 11-foot encroachment. Hauser said the design keeps the accessory-building roofline at the same height as the home's garage and does not extend beyond the current driveway footprint.

Dane Crabtree of the Community Development Department said the lot is zoned SF1 (single-family large lot) and that the department received one written public comment in opposition expressing concern about setting precedent. Hauser said he spoke to the immediately adjacent neighbor and that neighbor expressed support, though one other neighbor submitted a letter objecting on precedent grounds.

Hauser outlined measures intended to reduce neighborhood impact: orienting the structure so it will appear from the street as an additional garage bay, using the backyard slope to limit overall height, and keeping the building within the line of existing improvements so it does not extend beyond the driveway. He also said he and his wife were sensitive to neighborhood character and understood neighbors’ concerns about precedent.

Board members discussed precedent and the tree-preservation easement's role in constraining placement. One member noted other similar accessory structures have been built in Westfield but said each case depends on its own facts and the variance criteria. The board voted to grant the variance with the recommended conditions in the staff report and later approved findings of fact for petition 2509-V-13.

The record shows the department had received one written objection and one petitioner-supported neighbor contact; no emails were reported at the hearing. The conditions recommended by staff must be recorded as part of the approval process before permits are issued.