Board of Zoning Appeals approves variance to rebuild damaged Bradley Drive building with zero spacing

The Springfield Municipal Board of Zoning Appeals on March 11 approved a variance allowing an owner at 1015 Bradley Drive to rebuild one portion of a formerly single structure without meeting the code istance required between separate buildings, provided the work includes specified fire-protection measures and a condition tying the relief to destruction caused by a tornado.

City planning staff told the board the request stems from tornado damage in December 2023 that destroyed a single building that had been platted as 11 condominium units. The property owner asked to rebuild in two phases so the owner can return a portion of the building to business use now rather than wait for the entire building to be reconstructed.

Planning staff said the zoning code requires minimum spacing between buildings on a single lot but that the existing plat and the tornado damage created a unique hardship. Staff reported the applicant met eight of the nine hardship criteria the board uses for variances and recommended approval with the fire-safety conditions included in departmental comments.

During discussion, staff said the owners intend the finished site to read visually as one building when the second phase is complete. Fire and electric department comments in the meeting packet requested fire-rated separations between the two rebuilt portions: either two-hour fire-rated walls on each side (one for each unit) or a single four-hour-rated wall if the second owner completes the other half later.

The applicant, identified in the record as Mr. Braswell, told the board he and his family have long ties to the business and neighborhood and asked to move forward so they can reopen and grow. "We just appreciate the city. We won't listen to this because we . . . we want to work. We want to get back into our building, and we're growing," Braswell said.

Board members discussed precedent and limiting language. Planning staff said the hardship is ‘‘uniquely created by an act of nature’’ and recommended conditioning the variance so it applies only where the destruction was caused by a tornado. One board member asked whether the variance would allow other owners to build two structures with zero spacing; staff responded that the condition and findings would limit approval to tornado-destroyed properties.

A motion to approve the variance with the stated condition passed on a roll-call vote: Briggs, Simmons, Flitter, Sherrod and I. Checker voting yes; no no votes or abstentions were recorded.

The approval allows the owner at 1015 Bradley Drive to proceed with phased reconstruction subject to the fire-protection measures noted in departmental comments and the condition that the zero-spacing relief applies only in cases of destruction caused by a tornado. Staff recorded that the variance satisfied eight of the board—s nine hardship criteria.