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BZA grants small rear-yard variance for covered deck at 12709 Cherokee Lane
Summary
The board approved a variance allowing a 36-by-14-foot deck (20 feet covered) at 12709 Cherokee Lane to leave an average rear setback of 26.7 feet, a 3.3-foot variance from the required 30-foot average rear-yard setback for the irregular lot.
The Leawood Board of Zoning Appeals on Oct. 22 approved a request to replace a 36-by-12-foot deck with a 36-by-14-foot deck, of which 20 feet would be covered, at 12709 Cherokee Lane.
Staff told the board that the irregular lot’s average rear-yard setback requirement is 30 feet and that the proposed covered deck would leave an average rear setback of 26.7 feet, requiring a 3.3-foot variance.
Applicant Eric McCarthy, 12709 Cherokee Lane, said the family has young children and wants a covered area to use the deck year-round; he said the backyard is smaller and soggy without the deck cover. "Being on an irregular sized lot, it kind of hinders our ability to cover it currently," McCarthy said, and requested that the board allow rebuilding in the existing footprint with a modest extension of two feet.
A board member queried whether the existing uncovered deck had to be counted in an average rear-yard calculation; planning staff explained that uncovered decks were treated differently and that covering the deck changes how the rear-yard average is calculated. Board members found the five variance criteria were met, concluding that the irregular lot shape and the modest size increase amounted to uniqueness and hardship.
A motion to approve Case 52-2025, 12709 Cherokee Lane, a variance to the rear yard setback for an irregular lot under LDO section 16-2-5.3 in an R-1 district, passed on a voice vote. The applicant will be notified in writing.
