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Board OKs sauna and cold‑plunge studio on narrow Lake Eastbrook parcel; owner secures shared parking agreement
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved dimensional variances allowing a sauna/cold‑plunge studio to be built partly over an existing parking area at 3535 Lake Eastbrook SE, including reduced front/water setbacks and a one‑foot side setback; the applicant will use a shared parking agreement with the adjacent property.
The Grand Rapids Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances that will allow a proposed sauna and cold‑plunge studio to be built at 3535 Lake Eastbrook SE, a narrow parcel with limited buildable depth. The board approved variances to reduce front and waterside setbacks and separately approved a side‑yard dimensional variance to allow the facility to occupy space now used for parking.
Why it matters: The property sits between a road and the water with only about 40 feet of usable depth, according to planning staff. The applicant said the site’s configuration leaves no practical place for the outdoor seating and circulation that sauna and cold‑plunge operations require; board members concluded the narrow site and the parcel’s existing nonconforming parking created an exceptional circumstance that justified the variances.
What was proposed Applicant David Stoffer described a small personal‑service business that would enclose part of an existing structure and…
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