Jefferson County BZA approves side-yard variance for Sunnyside Road garage, rejects new rear encroachment

The Jefferson County Board of Zoning Adjustment on an undisclosed date approved a variance reducing a side-yard setback from 20 feet to 11 feet for petition BOA25003, a request tied to a proposed detached garage at 2630 Sunnyside Road in Festus. The property owner agreed to retain the existing 4-foot rear setback for the replacement structure, so the board did not grant an additional reduction to the rear setback.

County planning staff told the board the petition sought relief from the Unified Development Order (UDO), chapter 400, requiring a 50-foot rear-yard setback and 20-foot side-yard setbacks in LR-2 (Large Lot Residential) zoning. Staff’s written analysis recommended denial, noting an existing lawfully nonconforming structure sits four feet from the rear property line, the UDO’s replacement clause allows rebuilding in the same place within 180 days without increased encroachment, and approving a larger encroachment would “exacerbate an already nonconforming situation.”

Petitioners Tracy and Aaron Hulsey, who said they live at 2630 Sunnyside Road and had been sworn, told the board they planned to tear down the existing pole-building garage and build a larger, concrete-floored detached garage to accommodate three drivers in the household and a home workshop. Tracy Hulsey said the new structure would increase the taxable value of the property and that the adjacent neighbor (identified in the record as Mr. Geiler) told them he did not object.

Board members discussed several factors before voting: the prior grant of reduced setbacks on the site (a variance in February 2011 that resulted in a 4-foot rear setback), the UDO’s intent that legally nonconforming structures not be made more nonconforming, proximity of an existing pool house and other structures on the lot, and the practical limits of moving the proposed garage without creating other problems for the homeowner (driveway turning area, septic tank/drain-field locations). Several board members expressed concern about setting a precedent for larger encroachments while others emphasized that the existing nonconforming condition had been previously approved and that the petitioner had agreed not to ask for additional rear encroachment beyond the existing 4 feet.

After deliberation the board approved the motion to allow the requested side-yard reduction (20 feet to 11 feet) and clarified that no additional rear-yard encroachment beyond the existing 4 feet would be approved as part of this action. The board also accepted the county’s exhibits into the record and approved routine minutes and reports later in the meeting.

The petition record identifies the property as approximately 1.1 acres in size in the LR-2 zone and notes there is no floodplain or floodway affecting the lot. The UDO’s lawfully nonconforming replacement clause cited in staff analysis allows replacement within 180 days so long as there is no further encroachment. The board’s approval permits the petitioner to seek applicable building permits consistent with the relieved side-yard dimension; the transcript does not record permit issuance or additional conditions.

Votes and formal motions recorded in the meeting minutes show the board approved acceptance of county exhibits and approved petition BOA25003 in part (side-yard variance approved; no new rear-yard encroachment granted). The transcript does not provide a roll-call vote tally by member name in the record excerpt.