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Board approves variance to build on narrow lot at 1220 Fourteenth Street
Summary
The ZBA approved a variance allowing a single‑family house with reduced side setbacks on a 2,400‑square‑foot lot at 1220 Fourteenth Street after staff and the applicant explained the lot’s small size and surrounding nonconformities.
The Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustments approved a variance Thursday enabling construction of a single‑family residence at 1220 Fourteenth Street in the university area, where narrow, nonconforming lots are common.
Staff said the lot is roughly 2,400 square feet and that the proposed house would be about 960 square feet. The petitioner proposed a plan that produces 38% ground coverage, 3% above the zoning district’s limit, and requests side setbacks of 4 feet on one side and 10 feet on the other; combined, the plan meets the ordinance’s combined setback requirement though one side falls short of the five‑foot minimum. The applicant said the finished building will in practice provide about a five‑foot rear setback once built (“margin of error” on construction), and noted masonry construction to meet fire‑rating requirements where separations are less than five feet.
Why it matters: The lot is too small to meet modern SFR‑3 standards as drawn; staff and several board members said the parcel is consistent with other small lots nearby, and approving the variance allows an underused lot to be developed rather than remain vacant.
Board members voted to approve the variance. During discussion, board members asked staff to ensure the building permit review enforces building‑code requirements for fire rating where walls are closer than five feet to the property line. The petitioner, Carl Sodergren, told the board the plan would deliver four bedrooms and four bathrooms within the footprint and that his intention is to meet code in final construction.
Outcome: ZBA approved ZBA‑11‑25 (variance from side setback and ground coverage) to allow construction at 1220 Fourteenth Street.
