The Walworth County Board of Adjustment on July 9 recessed a hearing on a request by Bethanne Pollard to tear down a seasonal cottage at 1508 Polk Avenue in Delavan and construct a year‑round home, after discussing requested variances from the county’s shoreland zoning rules for setbacks, parking and the vision triangle.

The Pollard application asks the board to allow portions of a new house and an uncovered deck to sit outside the existing structure’s footprint and inside the vision triangle; the submission shows a proposed 5.2‑foot side‑yard setback for the house where the ordinance requires 10 feet, and a 3.5‑foot Polk Avenue setback for the deck where county materials list a 5.3‑foot requirement. The plan indicates one 180‑square‑foot parking space although county standards require four parking stalls for a four‑bedroom home.

The request matters locally because the property is in Assembly Park, a long‑established, small‑lot lakeside neighborhood in Delavan where off‑street parking, sight lines and year‑round occupancy raise recurring concerns. Pollard told the board the family has used the 592‑square‑foot cottage as a seasonal home for nearly 60 years and seeks a larger, accessible residence to live there year‑round with her 86‑year‑old mother. “We would really love to make this our forever home for both my mom and myself and my husband going forward,” Pollard said.

Board members and staff focused on three technical points: parking capacity and winter plowing, whether the proposed deck falls under the shoreland setback rules, and whether the proposed work intrudes on the vision triangle at the street corner. Nick Sigman, zoning staff, told the board that if the deck’s margin averages less than 6 inches above grade it can be treated like a patio and would not require a setback; he also noted that the vision‑triangle rule treats structures over 2.5 feet differently and that staff could work with the applicant and architect to resolve marginal height and railing questions.

Pollard said the main floor of the proposed house would be about 900 square feet and that the family believes the property can accommodate two regular vehicles plus occasional visitor parking in an overflow lot across Polk Avenue. She said the plan shown to the board formally depicts a single 10‑by‑18‑foot parking stall but that landscape and driveway adjustments would allow additional parking in practice. The board repeatedly pressed the applicant on winter plowing and emergency access if off‑site parking were full during busy weekends.

The record includes an emailed letter of support from Lindsay McDermott, who indicated she owns the neighboring home at 1635 Assembly Lane and wrote, “Mary Anne and her family have our full support.” County staff entered three exhibits into the record: an aerial photo of the overflow lot (Exhibit 1), McDermott’s email (Exhibit 2) and a Town of Delavan letter dated June 11, 2025 that says the town board approved the application at its June 10 meeting by a 3‑0 vote with two members recused (Exhibit 3).

Pollard told the board she and her husband plan to retire and move from Arizona; she also said the family would likely not proceed with construction if the necessary variances are denied. The board did not decide the merits at the July 9 session. Instead, the chair recessed the hearing to continue on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 9 a.m.

The hearing record shows the board considered the application under the Walworth County Shoreland Zoning Ordinance and weighed neighborhood parking patterns, the physical height of the proposed deck, and vision‑triangle sight lines while noting that staff could review final plans with the applicant’s architect before a final determination.