Board grants height variances for new home at 468 Willets citing steep rear grade

The Board of Zoning Appeals approved three height-related variances for a proposed new home at 468 Willets, concluding the parcel’s steep grade created unique conditions that made strict ordinance compliance impractical.

City staff summarized that the property slopes sharply toward a rear drainage area, producing a drop of roughly 10–15 feet across the building footprint. Staff said the front of the proposed house meets the 30-foot pitched-roof maximum, but the sloping grade produces higher measured midpoint and eave heights at the rear. The applicant requested three variances: a 5.66-foot variance for pitched-roof maximum height (proposed 35.66 feet vs. 30 feet allowed), a 0.84-foot variance for a flat-roof portion (proposed 24.84 feet vs. 24 feet allowed), and a 9.38-foot variance for maximum eave height (proposed 33.38 feet vs. 24 feet allowed).

Architect Brian Dieper said the design uses low-profile rooflines and an international/modern approach to keep bulk down when viewed from the street; the height impacts are the result of a natural walkout condition created by the lot’s falling grade. Dieper and the design team said they had minimized the height requests and prepared the lowest design they considered viable for the site, noting that a flat lot or a change in grade would remove the need for variances.

Board members in favor cited the physical site constraints — the steep grade and the walkout condition — and said the proposed design would not unreasonably impact neighboring properties. One member remarked that without a grade-based exception in the ordinance, lots like this will regularly require variances. The board approved all three variances by roll call and tied the approval to the plans under consideration.

Votes: Motion to approve the requested height variances passed by roll call.