Prairie Village BZA approves side-setback variance for 7714 Mohawk Drive

The Prairie Village Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a side-setback variance for 7714 Mohawk Drive, allowing a proposed attached two-car garage to sit 4 feet 2 inches from the side lot line instead of the 7 feet required by ordinance.

The request, filed as BZA 2024-9, affects a 70-foot-wide lot in an R1A zoning district. City staff told the board the lot is a legal nonconforming parcel because the R1A district requires 80-foot-wide lots; the narrower width contributed to the need for a variance. Staff said the proposed garage would be about 22 feet wide, maintain a single-story profile, and extend roughly 32 feet along the lot edge.

City planning staff noted the proposal still meets cumulative setback requirements for the lot and compares favorably with what could be built under a full teardown and new construction. The staff report said the project would result in about 12 feet of building separation from the adjacent building to the north by the staff’s scaling, and a cumulative side setback of more than 17 feet between the two sides. Staff recommended conditions that limit the approval to the plans submitted and require the variance to be recorded with the register of deeds.

Devin Coffey, the applicant and resident at 7714 Mohawk Drive, told the board he preferred preserving the existing house to tearing it down and rebuilding. “We’re gonna probably spend north of 300 to $500,000 on fixing this up and raising the house up,” Coffey said, describing efforts to address chronic water and grading issues on the lot and a prior retaining wall installed to reduce flooding. Coffey said he had obtained letters of support from neighbors along the affected property line.

The public comment period drew no speakers. After brief discussion and confirmation that the property has no side easement that would affect the proposal, a board member moved to approve BZA 2024-9; another member seconded the motion. The board chair called for a vote and the motion passed unanimously.

Conditions recorded in the staff report and restated at the meeting limit the variance to the dimensions and extent shown on the submitted plans; any expansion beyond that would require a separate application. The staff presentation emphasized the low-profile, single-story design and the topography that keeps the garage roughly 2 to 3 feet below the neighboring lot grade.

Votes at a glance - Approval of BZA minutes from Dec. 3: motion approved (unanimous; individual roll-call votes not recorded in the meeting transcript). - BZA 2024-9, side-setback variance at 7714 Mohawk Drive: approved (unanimous). Conditions: approval limited to submitted plans; variance must be recorded with the register of deeds; no side easement on the lot. - Election of chair, vice chair and secretary: motion to elect the slate approved (unanimous). The meeting record references Jonathan Berkel and Lisonbee Brown in discussion about the chair/vice chair roles and notes the city clerk said she would serve as secretary; the transcript does not record a formal roll-call naming each officer at the time of the vote.

The board briefly discussed timing for revisiting residential design guideline updates and noted the planning commission’s vacancy and schedule when considering whether to hold a February meeting to continue that work.