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BZA approves 5‑foot frontage variance to allow lot consolidation at 336 Mulberry Street
Summary
Board approved a 5‑foot frontage variance to let homeowner Sharon Hayes consolidate adjacent lots at 336 Mulberry Street so an accessory structure could be sited and to preserve neighborhood lot‑combination precedent; neighbors voiced concerns about future driveway/driveway‑view impacts.
The Board of Zoning Appeals voted to grant a five‑foot variance from the 70‑foot lot‑frontage requirement to permit consolidation of lots at 336 Mulberry Street, a step the applicant said is necessary to allow accessory uses associated with the primary residence.
Sharon Hayes, owner of 336 Mulberry Street, told the board the neighborhood contains many examples of combined lots and that the consolidation is meant to make the property usable for an accessory structure and to avoid creating a drive‑through configuration. “There is a lot of precedent in the neighborhood for combining lots,” Hayes said during the hearing.
Several neighbors spoke at the public hearing. Herman Moses of 1264 Oxford Place said he wants Oxford Place to remain single‑family and cautioned that a consolidation could change the character of the small street. Neighbor Glenn Walter, 1248 Oxford Place, asked whether a future development might leave nearby homes facing a driveway rather than a yard and said that would harm market values.
Planning staff told the board other dimensional and lot‑size requirements would be met once the consolidation proceeded and that the Planning Commission had already approved the consolidation conditioned on BZA relief for frontage. The board discussed the narrow scope of the variance, noting it applies only to the parcels before the board and does not set automatic precedent for dissimilar properties. The board accepted staff findings and approved the variance with the standard condition that any future site‑plan changes comply with the zoning code or return to the BZA. The board reiterated the decision is appealable to the Circuit Court of Monongalia County and work during the 30‑day appeal window is at the owner's financial risk.
