ZBA grants 15-foot buffer variance for 630 South Ashley to allow detached garage with apartment

The Ann Arbor Zoning Board of Appeals on April 23 granted a 15-foot buffer variance along the western lot line for 630 South Ashley Street, allowing construction of a two-story detached garage with a second-story residential unit.

Planning staff said Mark Reuter, representing the property owner, is seeking a 15-foot-width variance from section 5.20.4 (public park and residential zoning district buffers) for a 42-foot run along the western property line. If approved, the variance permits a detached garage with vehicle parking on the first floor and a one-bedroom apartment above; the broader project proposes two three-story residential units (approximately 2,552 and 2,587 square feet) and the detached garage structure.

Dan Williams of Maven Development, who represented the applicant at the meeting, said the design resulted from multi-year work with the Historic District Commission to scale a residential project within a commercially zoned parcel. “We’re adding housing. We’re staying in character and scale of the neighborhood,” Williams said, noting the decision to detach the garage was to preserve the neighborhood’s scale as required by the historic review process.

Board members asked whether granting the variance would remove the landscape buffer entirely along the affected 42-foot stretch; staff clarified that the variance eliminates the 15-foot buffer for that portion, which yields approximately a four-foot separation between the new garage and the adjacent western property line, and that the plans do not show plantings in that narrow strip. Staff also noted the property previously housed Arman Cleaners; remediation following demolition was completed after the Historic District Commission issued a certificate of appropriateness in 2021.

A nearby resident, Kitty Klein of 631 South First Street, spoke in the public hearing and raised concerns about property lines, an overlapping fence, and ongoing contamination remediation, saying she has a long relationship with the Department of Environmental Quality and that perchloroethylene contamination had previously required remediation on the site. Staff and the board noted property-line disputes are outside the ZBA forum and suggested affected neighbors consult an attorney or pursue other remedies.

After discussion the board voted to grant the 15-foot buffer variance. The motion directs that the project be built per the submitted plans and noted the project will continue through the Planning Commission site-plan review and that the Historic District Commission retains authority over exterior changes and signage.