Prescott City Board denies 2-foot driveway setback reduction in Pinnacle Lakes

The Prescott City Board of Adjustments on March 20 denied a variance request to shorten a required garage/driveway setback in the Pinnacle Lakes subdivision, voting 5–1 against reducing the setback from 22 feet to 20 feet for a new single-family residence.

City staff presented the request as a variance to the subdivision plat for Pinnacle at Prescott Lakes Unit 2 Phase 2B. Tammy DeWitt, Community Planner, told the board that planned-area-development rules for the subdivision require garages be set back 22 feet so larger vehicles and trucks can park without extending into the public right-of-way. DeWitt said staff’s review found a potential hazard if a longer vehicle or one with a hitch projected into the sidewalk or roadway; staff had received one letter of opposition included in the meeting packet and had mailed notices to property owners within 300 feet.

The applicant, Chad Devries of Southwest Sunset Homes (appearing for Davis Construction), said the request was for a two-foot reduction to allow the model home to sit farther forward on a lot with substantial terracing and retaining walls in back. Devries and representatives noted the lot’s retaining-wall tiers and a narrow rear yard caused by additional retaining structures that were built after earlier approvals. The applicant said the homeowners association’s architectural review committee and board had unanimously approved the change and that the community is a private, gated neighborhood with use restrictions on driveway parking.

Board members pressed staff and the applicant on site specifics. Board member Mary Frederickson asked how much rear yard would remain if the garage met the 22-foot setback; staff and the applicant said the space would shrink from roughly 14 feet to about 12 feet to the first terrace. Board members also asked about the height and relocation of retaining walls; staff said moving the wall would require reengineering across multiple lots and could conflict with terracing spacing requirements in the development. Staff noted the lots were graded and terraced before house permits were issued, and that the wall tiers were in place prior to the current building submittals.

During deliberations, board members debated whether the circumstances were “self-imposed.” Staff advised the board that under Arizona statute the board may grant variances only when special circumstances of the property (size, shape, topography, location or surroundings) would deprive the property of privileges enjoyed by similar properties in the zoning district, and that a variance may not be granted if the special circumstances are self-imposed by the property owner (citing ARS 9-462.06 g–h). The board weighed the applicant’s testimony and the HOA approval against staff’s public-safety concerns about vehicles projecting into the public way.

After public comment from the Prescott Lakes Community Association (which supported the variance) and other residents who opposed it, a motion to deny the variance passed by a 5–1 vote. The variance request (reduce garage/driveway setback from 22 feet to 20 feet) was denied; the board did not adopt alternate conditions or a reduced variance.

Board members and staff highlighted alternatives available to the applicant, including redesigning the home or reconfiguring the lot layout; the applicant said the approved model plans and lot grading limit simple redesigns and that the HOA had previously approved the proposed change.

The board’s action was limited to the variance request on the lot in Pinnacle at Prescott Lakes Unit 2 Phase 2B; no building permits or other approvals were issued as part of this vote.