Zoning board OKs variances for detached garage at 109 North Bench Street

The Galena Zoning Board of Appeals approved two variances Wednesday to permit construction of a detached garage at 109 North Bench Street: one to reduce side and rear setbacks and a second to reduce the minimum landscape surface ratio and maximum building-size standard.

Applicant Deanna Whalen told the board she recently moved to the property and asked for permission to build a roughly 15-foot-wide, 23-foot-deep, one-and-a-half-car garage with a 3-foot apron off the alley. She said the ridge height from finished floor to roof peak would be about 20 feet and the eave height would be within the city standard of 15 feet. Whalen said parking on Bench Street is difficult at times and the garage would improve year-round access to a parked vehicle.

During the public hearing staff and members discussed alley width, water runoff and storm drainage, and an existing stone retaining wall between the property and a neighbor’s driveway. Staff said runoff from roofs in that block generally drains into the alley and then the street; excavation and retaining-wall impacts near neighbors would require coordination during permitting. Board members noted similar garages already exist along the alley and said that precedent supported the request.

Board members read the eight variance criteria into the record and concluded the variances were warranted: the property’s configuration creates a practical hardship, the relief requested is the minimum necessary, and the proposal is compatible with adjacent properties and the comprehensive plan. The board directed staff to draft positive findings of fact for both calendar items (25BDash03 and 25BDash04); subsequent roll-call votes approved the motions.

The approvals allow the applicant to seek building and excavation permits subject to standard permit review, any neighbor coordination needed for retaining-wall work, and compliance with drainage and eave-height requirements.