Board of Appeals grants variance to place AC condenser at 4225 North Morris Blvd.

The Village of Fort Worth Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance allowing an air-conditioning condenser to be placed within the side-yard setback at 4225 North Morris Boulevard, the board announced after a roll-call vote at its meeting on 2025-03-21. Chair Wendy Smith moved to grant the variance and the motion was seconded; the chair announced, "Motion carried, 4 1. No variance is granted."

The board heard a presentation from Inspector Burris, who said the village received the HVAC permit application and the Board of Appeals application on March 21 and that the applicable zoning regulation (identified in the record as "2 2 5 dash 7 F 4" and referenced elsewhere as "535Dash19F4") prohibits air-conditioning units in side setbacks and sets a minimum interior side setback of 3 feet. Burris summarized supporting materials in the packet: the HVAC permit application, the Board of Appeals application, the manufacturer's technical guide, a property survey and photographs. He said the survey shows the area where the unit would be located has a setback of 4.1 feet and that the manufacturer requires "a minimum 8 inch space between the condenser unit and the house, which would result in a again, based on the width of the unit, and 8 and 1 eighth inch encroachment into the side yard setback." He also noted the manufacturer specifies a maximum refrigeration piping length of 31 feet.

Homeowner Thomas Hoffman told the board he lives in the older, closely built "proletariat" section of Shorewood and described site constraints. Hoffman said he planned to mount the condenser on the side of his house to reduce efficiency losses and to keep the unit above snow accumulation; he told the board, "Snow clearance is is a huge 1, but it also gets it closer to the house." He said the driveway runs along the south side of the house and that the rear deck and window/door locations limit alternative placements. The village sent neighbor notices and received no responses, Inspector Burris said.

Board members questioned whether the condenser could be placed in the backyard or on the south side and asked for data on how much efficiency would be lost if the unit were placed farther from the furnace. Several members said lack of quantified efficiency loss made it harder to find an exceptional circumstance, while others noted the physical constraints the homeowner described. During deliberations, Chair Wendy Smith moved to grant the variance "as we find that there are exceptional circumstances relating to this property and an absence of detriment to neighboring properties." The motion was seconded.

At roll call the transcript records individual responses and the chair then announced the motion carried. The board did not record additional conditions tied to the variance in the motion on the record, and no further follow-up or permit conditions were specified in the hearing. The board adjourned at 6:07 p.m.

The decision allows the homeowner to proceed with the condenser placement as presented in the application; the homeowner and village staff will proceed through the normal permitting and inspection process for the installed equipment.