Zoning board: front yard starts at primary dwelling; denies 6-foot solid fence at 3320 W. Lyndale Ave.

The Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 23 determined that the city had not erred in identifying the front yard at 3320 West Lyndale Avenue and then voted to deny a request to leave a 6-foot solid fence in the front yard.

On the first question — whether staff incorrectly identified the front yard — the board unanimously (4-0) affirmed staff’s determination that the front yard is measured from the primary dwelling toward Lyndale Avenue rather than from the outer edge of the porch. The zoning administrator explained that the porch appears to be a projection into the front yard and that staff had no independent evidence that the porch is a load-bearing portion of the primary dwelling.

Following that determination, the applicant sought a variance for a 6-foot solid fence that would have exceeded the city’s decorative-fence standard (decorative fences in front…