The Birmingham Board of Zoning Appeals on an uncontested vote approved variances for 732 Westchester Way (appeal 24-30) that will allow a small front- and second-floor addition to an existing nonconforming 1960 home.

The variances grant (a) a 0.86-foot reduction from the front-yard setback required under Chapter 126, Article 2, Section 2.06.2 of the zoning ordinance and (b) relief related to the required five-foot setback between a private attached garage and the front facade, resulting in the board's approval of a 10.09-foot relief tied to the submitted plans.

Jeff Zilke, staff presenter, summarized the request and the ordinance citations, saying the ordinance requires the front-yard setback to be the average of homes within 200 feet and that the required front-yard distance for this lot is 33.20 feet while the existing and proposed condition measures 32.34 feet, producing the 0.86-foot variance request. He also described how the proposed addition interacts with the existing forward-facing garage and the five-foot garage setback requirement.

Robin Belew, the homeowners' architect, said the owners purchased the house recently and that the design team tried to minimize the nonconformity. "We brought it as far forward as we could. Extend[ing] the porch out as far as we could within the ordinance to try and mitigate the appearance between the face of the garage and the face of the house," Belew said, adding the team also proposed splitting a 16-foot garage door to improve appearance though it was not strictly required for an existing nonconforming structure.

Board members discussed the limited scope of the change and noted the addition mostly aligns with the existing footprint. A motion to approve both variances "tied to the plans" was made, seconded, and approved by roll call: Ron Reddy, Richard Lilly, Eric Morgenrath, Gary Waldo, Jason Cavicert and Kevin Hart all voted yes (6-0). The chair announced, "Congratulations. You have your variance. Good luck." The approval was explicitly tied to the submitted plans.

Because the approvals were for dimensional (nonuse) variances on a preexisting nonconforming house, the board recorded the relief as conditional on the plans on file; no other permits or changes were decided by the board at the hearing.