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BZA permits walk‑in cooler rebuild in existing footprint after historic commission sign‑off
Summary
The board granted a variance allowing a walk‑in cooler replacement in its existing footprint at a retail property where current zoning setback rules would otherwise prevent reconstruction after demolition; project had prior Historic Zoning Commission review.
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance that permits a retail operator to demolish and rebuild a failing walk‑in cooler within its existing footprint where the current CN zoning setback would otherwise require greater separation from an adjacent residential district.
Staff said the property is in a CN zoning district and abuts a residential district; the ordinance requires a 20‑foot interior side setback where the CN district abuts residential. The applicant sought permission to rebuild the walk‑in cooler within roughly a 3‑foot setback to the residential zoning edge because the existing structure is already nonconforming.
Applicant Cody Grooms said the cooler has been attached to the retail building for about 50–60 years and is beyond its useful life. He said the project will rebuild the cooler in the same footprint and will correct an existing encroachment that currently sits over the property line. “The hardship is the owner is essentially stuck at this point with a structure that’s failing,” Grooms told the board.
Board members noted the structure is preexisting and nonconforming, the Historic Zoning Commission had already approved a treatment in December and would review the updated scope, and they did not perceive the rebuild as injurious to the neighborhood if it maintains compatible materials. A motion to approve the variance cited the preexisting size of the lot and the preexisting structure; the board voted in favor.
The decision allows the property owner to proceed with demolition and reconstruction of the cooler within the existing footprint subject to Historic Zoning Commission final approvals for exterior treatments.
