Planning Commission unanimously backs two special-exception requests for single-family homes on nonconforming lots

The Newport News Planning Commission on March 19 recommended approval of two special exceptions that would allow Ella Homes LLC to build two-story single-family detached houses on nonconforming lots with less than 50 feet of frontage.

City Planner Eli Zakar told the commission the applications — SE2025-0004 for a property at 1154/20 Fifth Street and SE2025-0005 for 1223/20 Sixth Street — meet the zoning ordinance criteria for development on nonconforming lots and that staff recommended approval with conditions. Zakar said the ordinance (Section 40-5-3-204(e)) allows the Board of Zoning Appeals to grant such exceptions when proposed dwellings are two stories or match adjacent designs and meet setback requirements. He summarized staff recommendations, including 10 standard conditions requiring submitted building elevations, specified exterior materials and colors, and a brick veneer on the first-floor front facade and front steps.

The two properties are small urban lots. Zakar reported SE2025-0004 (1154/20 Fifth Street) is about 0.10 acres on a 43.75-foot-wide lot; the proposed house would have a 10-foot setback to the covered front porch and 18.9 feet to the main structure, 5.1-foot side yards, and an attached one-car garage recessed 18 feet. SE2025-0005 (1223/20 Sixth Street) is about 0.086 acres on a 37.5-foot-wide lot; staff described a 10-foot porch setback, 15 feet to the main structure, 5.1-foot side yards and a one-car garage recessed 18 feet. Both proposals call for a covered front porch, siding, rectangular windows and an A-frame roof similar to surrounding homes; staff recommended elevation “C” for one of the submittals and the set of ten conditions that will be part of any Board of Zoning Appeals approval.

Two representatives for the project spoke in favor. Humberto Amares identified himself as the buyer and said, “this is my personal project…I’m a carpenter by trade and I’m also a real estate agent,” and that he intends the development to “beautify the neighborhood.” Steve Hardy, speaking for Ella Homes, told the commission the company bought the parcels at a city auction and said, “we bought it at the city auction, clear title, everything.”

One nearby homeowner, Wayne Hamburg, spoke in opposition to the Sixth Street proposal. Hamburg described buying his house a year ago and said the lots had been fenced as a single parcel; he said the new construction would place homes “that close on top of each other” and called that “not comfortable.” He raised concerns about losing yard space, access for his landscaping equipment and vehicles, and the potential cost to relocate his HVAC unit, which he estimated at about $8,000.

Commissioners discussed the applications briefly, noted that several lots on the block are historically less than the 50-foot frontage threshold and that the proposals conform to the ordinance’s listed criteria. Each item was the subject of a public hearing before the commission took votes. For SE2025-0004 the commission voted 9–0 to recommend approval; for SE2025-0005 the commission also voted 9–0. The commission recorded the vote as unanimous both times.

Both matters are scheduled to be heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals in April 2025. The planning staff report and the ten conditions cited by staff will accompany the cases to the BZA.

The planning commission’s executive secretary also reported at the meeting that, among other items, the Board of Zoning Appeals had approved three separate special exceptions on March 18 for properties on Roanoke Avenue and Fourth Street, and that City Council had remanded a rezoning request on Old Fort Eustis Boulevard back to planning commission for reconsideration.