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Board of Adjustment approves variance for 3123 Edgewater Drive with 42% impervious cover and 300‑gallon rainwater capture
Summary
The Austin Board of Adjustment on Sept. 8 approved a variance for owners of 3123 Edgewater Drive to reduce rear and side setbacks and increase impervious cover to 42%, conditioned on a 300‑gallon rainwater capture system. The vote was unanimous.
The Austin Board of Adjustment on Sept. 8 approved a variance allowing owners of 3123 Edgewater Drive to reduce rear and side yard setbacks and to increase impervious cover up to 42 percent, with a condition that the owners install a 300‑gallon rainwater capture system.
The applicants, Gary and Sherry Cooley, said the property’s history and configuration created a unique hardship. "Our home has no covered parking ... family members have to cross the yard in the dark and in bad weather in order to reach their vehicles," said Gary Cooley, identifying himself as an owner of 3123 Edgewater Drive. He told the board the lot is roughly one‑third of an acre while Lake Austin (LA) zoning standards are written for 1‑acre lots, and that a previously detached garage was placed on an adjacent lot when the property was subdivided, leaving the existing house toward the back of the lot.
Board members asked detailed questions about footprint, landscaping and stormwater. Cooley said the project replaces an existing deck with a two‑car garage and some storage and that the addition would generally follow the existing roofline. He told the board nearby neighbors had provided letters of support; he specifically named Bob Sokol as a neighbor who had reviewed and signed a support letter. Cooley acknowledged that some trees at the rear had been removed under a tree permit because they were diseased.
Discussion focused heavily on how much additional impervious cover to allow and whether to require rainwater capture as mitigation. Vice Chair Melissa Hawthorne made the motion to approve; the motion was amended several times during debate. After multiple amendments and a discussion about the subdivision history and relevant zoning categories (Lake Austin overlay vs. SF‑2), the board adopted an amendment approving impervious cover at 42 percent and requiring a 300‑gallon rainwater capture installation. The main motion — approving the requested side and rear setback reductions together with the amended impervious cover and rainwater capture requirement — passed on a recorded roll call vote with all voting members in favor.
Assistant City Attorney Erica Lopez advised the board on motion and amendment procedure during the extended exchange over impervious cover percentages and mitigation. Several board members framed the issue as balancing neighborhood character and Lake Austin runoff protections with the particular lot’s constrained configuration.
The board recorded its action as an approval of the variances for 3123 Edgewater Drive (case C1520250018). The vote on the final, amended motion was recorded as unanimous in favor.
The applicants may now proceed to the city’s residential review and permit process, where staff will confirm compliance with the board’s conditions.
