The Davenport Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 10 approved a hardship variance allowing a 30-by-36-foot detached garage to encroach into the corner side yard at 455 South Fairmont Street, subject to conditions requiring use of the existing driveway, paving of any new vehicle areas, and two windows facing Fairmont Street.

The board’s action lets owner Chad Pershing place the accessory structure 23 feet from the Fairmont property line on a corner lot zoned R-3C, where accessory structures are governed by the city’s zoning code sections cited in the staff report. Scott Cope, neighborhood planner for the city, said topography and a desire to avoid additional fill and engineering work were part of the applicant’s justification for the reduced setback.

The variance request, filed as HB 25-05, covers a detached garage sited south of the existing private driveway and roughly 135 feet north of Hobson Avenue. Cope told the board the proposed garage would be set back farther than a principal structure would be and that staff found unique physical and topographic conditions limiting development on the lot. Cope said staff mailed notices to 12 adjacent properties and received no written comments.

Pershing, the property owner, told the board he plans to use the building as a workshop for maintenance equipment and said he intends to pave the area to the street within the next year. “All that, hopefully, within the next year is gonna be paved,” Pershing said. He also said he initially omitted windows from the design because he was concerned they would create additional break-in points but said he had no problem adding windows if the board required them: “To me, that’s a break in point for people breaking in. ... But if it’s a recommendation, I have no problem putting windows in.”

Staff recommended two conditions: that the existing driveway be used for access and that any new vehicle-use areas not currently used as driveway be paved; and that the garage include two windows facing Fairmont Street to improve the street-facing appearance. Cope suggested window security could be accomplished with interior bars if theft was a concern.

During public discussion, staff flagged that the narrow strip in front of the property identified in the plan may lie in the city right-of-way. “Anything to the west of that is city right of way, and so you would just need to coordinate with engineering and get appropriate permits,” Cope said, advising Pershing to contact engineering before doing curb or street-front paving.

A motion to approve HB 25-05 with the two staff recommendations carried on roll call. Board members present at the vote were Mike Galliard (yes), Bridget Boyd Carlson (yes), John Clefmann (yes), Kristen Crawford (yes) and Chair Dan Darling (yes). The board’s approval includes the paving and window conditions but does not itself authorize work in the public right-of-way; any such work will require separate permits from city engineering.

The decision resolves the single agenda item for the July 10 meeting; the board then adjourned.