Covington board denies variance for carport at 515 West 20 Fourth Avenue

The City of Covington Board of Adjustments on Monday denied a variance request to allow an attached carport within the side yard less than three feet from the side lot line at 515 West 20 Fourth Avenue.

The board voted to deny the variance after hearing that the carport was removed from an approved permit during a major renovation but was later constructed and now encroaches on the side-yard setback. The roll call recorded Miss Butler, Miss Williams and Mister Romage voting yes to deny and Mister Gilley and Mister Hovall voting no.

Chris Brown, a code enforcement official, told the board the case came to the board "by way of a code enforcement case." He said the homeowners originally removed the proposed carport from their permit application and received a certificate of occupancy after revised plans were approved. "At some point after the certificate of occupancy is when they have actually constructed that encroaches into the side yard setback, and that's why they're here before you today," Brown said.

Property owner William Treadway, who identified himself as the owner at 515 West 20 Fourth Street, disputed some details about the roof and drainage and said the rebuilt carport drains onto his property. Petitioner speaker Matt Fowler said the current carport "is exactly where it was before" and that it appears on a 1969 survey; he and the property owner described the carport as attached to and dependent on the house and said much of the house required reconstruction because of rot and termite damage.

During discussion commissioners debated whether the work was deliberate or the result of ignorance and whether granting a variance now would set a precedent. One commissioner summarized the tension: whether ignorance should be treated the same as deliberate noncompliance and warned that any decision would set an example for future cases. The board also heard that the property did not have an as-built survey showing the carport location and that the structure was less than three feet from the lot line.

The motion to deny the variance was seconded and carried on roll call. The board did not approve a permit for the carport; the denial means the constructed carport remains nonconforming and without a permit to occupy the setback.

The board’s action addressed only the variance request; any further enforcement or appeals would follow the city’s code enforcement and permit processes.