Wildwood board approves front-yard variance for Deerfield home; tree replacement required

The City of Wildwood Board of Adjustment on June 19 approved a variance allowing a 29-foot front-yard setback for a closet/laundry addition at 13 Deerfield Ridge Road, reducing the required 50-foot front-yard distance.

The variance affects a 3.84-acre lot in the Deerfield subdivision in Ward 1 and would let the homeowner construct a small addition attached to the front of an existing single-family home. The board approved the request unanimously, subject to a requirement that the petitioner submit a landscape plan addressing tree replacement or relocation.

The Department of Planning entered into the record the City of Wildwood Municipal Code, Chapter 400 Article 2 (Board of Adjustment) and Chapter 415.09 (Nonurban Residence District regulations), the planning file, and the department report. Planner Robin Keith told the board the lot is irregular, slopes more than 50 feet from high to low, and that the proposed addition would encroach to 29 feet from the roadway easement in lieu of the 50 feet required by code. The department noted the petitioner supplied a 3-D rendering, a tree-impact study showing removal of two large trees (a Norway spruce and an older white pine), and a stormwater mitigation plan, and that the homeowners association polled the subdivision and indicated over 90% support for the project.

Jeff Atkins, representing the owner and the architect, told the board the home’s topography and the placement of mechanical equipment limited locations for an addition and that the new addition would sit farther from public view: “the mechanical and the utilities that come in in that one location, are a concern,” Atkins said. He also acknowledged the need to replace trees removed by the work.

After department testimony and a brief public comment from an adjoining neighbor who said he had no objection and that the addition would improve the property’s balance with its garage, Vice Chair Arnie Sprunger moved to approve. The board voted 5–0 (Sprunger, Bob Morris, Anthony Reiner, Michael Lee, Chair Jared Frank) to grant the variance with the department’s condition requiring a landscape or tree-replacement plan. The approval is conditioned on obtaining required permits within six months, per the public hearing procedure noted at the meeting.

The decision resolves a petition originally scheduled in April and continued twice by the petitioner; the planning file and all submitted exhibits remain part of the record. The petitioner may seek an appeal to the St. Louis County Circuit Court within 30 days if dissatisfied with the board’s action.

Looking ahead, staff said the condition will require submittal and review of a tree-replacement or relocation plan prior to building permit issuance.