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Board grants variance to allow attached garage 5 feet from side lot line at 468 Hawthorne
Summary
The Webster Groves Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing homeowners at 468 Hawthorne Avenue to rebuild an attached garage 5 feet from the side property line, a 7-foot reduction from the 12-foot side setback requirement. The board found lot shape, existing garage location and site constraints supported the variance.
The Webster Groves Board of Adjustment on Aug. 14 approved a variance to let homeowners Douglas Weston and Lauren Harding rebuild an attached garage on their Hawthorne Avenue property 5 feet from the side lot line, reducing the city's usual 12-foot setback by 7 feet.
The board found the lot's geometry and the location of an older garage that recently burned created practical difficulties for complying with the full setback requirement.
Elliot Leibson, director of planning and development, told the board the existing garage (damaged by fire) averaged about 3.4 feet from the lot line; the proposal moves the garage farther from the line on average while placing an attached replacement about 5 feet from the side property line. Leibson said the lot is pie-shaped and that the rebuilt garage would, in concept, be farther from the lot line on average than the ruined structure it replaces.
Homeowner Weston Harding described the May fire that destroyed the prior garage and said the family needs additional storage and accessible space: “At midnight, our garage was on fire,” Harding said, describing how neighbors and firefighters helped contain the blaze. Harding said the proposed replacement is larger (about 23 by 43 feet) than the old 18-by-20 structure, that the plan keeps the historic appearance from the street and that moving the garage deeper into the lot would eliminate most of the family's backyard and landscaping.
Board members noted the parcel's narrowing shape and the site-specific constraints, and they discussed secondary consequences of alternate locations — including increased impervious surface or drainage concerns if a deeper drive were built. The architecture-review board would still review design and historic-compatibility details before building permits are issued.
The motion to grant the setback variance passed 4–0. City staff advised the homeowners on next steps, including ARB review and building-permit procedures.
What happens next: The owners must complete ARB (architecture-review board) review for historic-district compliance and obtain building permits; the variance decision is final for zoning setback purposes unless appealed within the city's statutory appeal period.
