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Fort Thomas board grants 9-foot side-yard variance to allow attached garage at 143 Tremont
Summary
The City of Fort Thomas Board of Adjustment approved a 9-foot variance to permit an attached two-car garage at 143 Tremont Avenue, conditioned on a recorded maintenance access easement between the applicant and the owner of two adjacent flag stems.
The City of Fort Thomas Board of Adjustment granted a request to reduce the minimum side-yard setback by 9 feet so an attached two-car garage can be built at 143 Tremont Avenue.
The variance was approved with the condition that the applicant record a maintenance access easement signed by the owner of two adjacent flag stems before the city issues building permits, board members said.
The applicant, Scott Le Sueur, told the board he had asked in December for a “0 variance” to build the attached two-car garage and that the neighboring property behind his lot — identified in the record as owned by “Dr. Bethany” — holds two flag-stem driveways, one 25 feet wide and the other 15 feet wide. "I was here in December requesting a 0 0 variance, to my lot line ... looking to add an attached garage to my current existing house that is 2 cars wide," Le Sueur said on the record.
City staff and board members described the property as a nonconforming lot and said the requested change equates to a 9-foot reduction from the required side-yard setback to permit a 0-foot lot-line wall where the garage will attach. A staff speaker explained the variance would be permitted only if a maintenance easement is recorded so the applicant and future owners have legal access to maintain the structure adjacent to the flag stems.
Board members discussed the uniqueness of the lot configuration and the adjacent private drives. A staff member said the city will require the easement "to be recorded probably with both properties" at the County Clerk’s office and that a stamped copy of the recorded document must be provided as part of the permit application.
The motion to grant the variance — described by the board as a 9-foot reduction to allow a 0 lot line at 143 Tremont — passed on a roll call vote. Carol Dixon, Chris Buickert, Randall Schultz and Christie Dougherty voted yes; no no votes or abstentions were recorded.
Votes at a glance: minutes from the December meeting — approved; 2025 meeting dates with December moved to the 16th — approved; officers elected for 2025 (James Beinecke, president; Carol Dixon, vice president; Chris Buickert, secretary) — approved; variance for 143 Tremont (case referenced in the record as 241682 / "20Four-sixteen82") — approved with requirement that a notarized and recorded maintenance access easement be submitted before permits are issued; motion to adjourn — approved.
The board’s action allows construction to proceed once the required recorded easement is delivered to city staff and included in the permit packet. Staff noted the easement, once recorded, will remain of record with the property deed and apply to future owners.
