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Board of Adjustment approves variance to allow attached carport 3 feet from side property line
Summary
Commerce City Board of Adjustment approved variance AV25-0003 to reduce the accessory-structure side-yard setback from 5 feet to 3 feet for a proposed attached carport at a single-family property; staff found the application met the Land Development Code criteria and five public comments were in favor.
Commerce City’s Board of Adjustment on a recorded vote approved variance AV25-0003 to reduce the required side-yard setback for an attached carport from 5 feet to 3 feet for a single-family property in the city’s central neighborhoods character area.
Planner Nathan Chavez told the board the 0.21-acre property is zoned R-1 (single-family detached residential) and that the requested variance would allow a proposed attached carport to be flush with an existing garage that was built in the late 1950s. Chavez said staff found the application met the Land Development Code’s variance approval criteria and that review agencies raised no outstanding concerns.
The variance would reduce the accessory-structure side-yard setback by 2 feet. Chavez said the existing garage sits about 3 feet from the property line because early Commerce City zoning standards required a 3-foot accessory-structure setback; strict enforcement of today’s 5-foot standard would place support posts in the driveway and obstruct vehicle access. He also said the structure will be reviewed for technical building-code requirements during the building-permit review and that a firewall will not be required.
Applicant representative Sandra Isgar, who identified herself as the daughter of Georgia Nelwander Bland and said the Blans purchased the property in 1968, said the carport is needed to help elderly household members enter and exit vehicles safely. “This carport is needed at this time,” Isgar said, adding that the family has a ramp at the front door and that the proposed carport would ease access in winter and reduce the need to alter an existing interior room.
A member of the public, Joy Bishop of 606550 East 70 Sixth Place, spoke in support and characterized the request as a handicapped accommodation. “It’s a handicapped accommodation, period,” Bishop said and urged administrative approval under the Americans with Disabilities Act rather than a hearing.
Board member Council member Douglas moved to approve the variance, and Board member Poe seconded the motion. The board recorded four yes votes; one no vote and one absence were reported. The motion carried and the variance was approved. Chavez noted five public-comment items were received, all in favor, and that a building permit for the carport is still under review.
The board’s action does not itself issue a building permit; the structure remains subject to technical review under the city’s building-permit process before construction may proceed.
