Commission approves development lot agreement to allow accessory shed at North Lake Drive

The Watertown Planning Commission unanimously approved a development lot agreement that ties two adjacent properties at 364 and 365 North Lake Drive, a move that will allow the owners, Jonathan and Dorothy McRavey, to obtain a building permit for a roughly 240-square-foot accessory shed.

Planning staff explained the legal issue: city code does not allow issuance of permits for accessory structures on a lot without a primary dwelling. The McRaveys own the lakefront house and the neighboring lot that contains a large, legal nonconforming detached garage; staff recommended a recorded development lot agreement (DLA) to treat the two lots as one for permitting purposes while limiting future, separate uses.

Planning staff member Brandy told the commission that the garage on the back lot has existed under common ownership for decades and that the DLA would “memorialize something that's been in effect and allow staff to issue permits that is within what ordinance allows.” She said the detached accessory structure on the back lot appears in county records dating to 1968 and that the DLA would be recorded and would prevent later splitting of the two lots for separate principal uses unless nonconformities were resolved.

Commissioners said the request is common for lakefront properties where owners have historically used adjacent lots as one functional property. One commissioner noted that if, in the future, the garage and other nonconforming features were removed and the properties were brought into conformance, the DLA could be dissolved and the lots sold separately.

The commission moved to approve the DLA and authorized staff to record the agreement; the motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Staff said the decision brings the sites into better conformance with city regulations and will allow issuance of the building permit for the new accessory structure.