Board approves design exception to reduce front-yard setback for industrial building addition

The Cedar Rapids Board of Adjustment voted to grant a major design exception that reduces a required 35-foot front-yard setback to 17.5 feet for an addition to an existing industrial facility.

The request, described by Development Services staff as a major design exception case number ADMD000870-2024 B, would allow a roughly 3,800-square-foot expansion onto a parcel of a little more than 3 acres containing an existing roughly 30,000-square-foot structure. Staff recommended approval on the basis that the proposal does not conflict with the comprehensive plan, represents a minimal deviation, and is reasonably necessary because a 20-foot-wide utility easement limits expansion to the west.

"This is for a cold storage expansion," said Tred Schnoor, an engineer with Schnoor Bonifazie Engineering, who asked the board to consider the practical constraint posed by a major telephone line within the utility easement. Schnoor said the owner has limited options to expand westward because of that easement.

Staff summarized the criteria the board must apply and concluded the request should be treated as a design exception rather than a rezoning. The staff presentation noted the addition would encroach “halfway into the threat and error setback” on the site plan and recommended approval.

A board member moved to grant the case. After a second, the board held a voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried.

Board members and staff instructed the applicant to follow up with Building Services for any necessary next steps.

Why it matters: The decision allows an industrial operator to expand where underground utilities constrain buildable area, and it sets the local administrative precedent for how the board applies the design-exception criteria when utility easements restrict expansion.

No public objections were recorded for this item during the hearing.