Dallas Board of Adjustment grants 1-foot side-yard variance for 5451 Vanderbilt Ave.

The Dallas Board of Adjustment, Panel B, voted to grant a one-foot variance to the side-yard setback at 5451 Vanderbilt Ave. on Aug. 20, 2025, approving the request by the property's owners to retain recently completed infill construction.

The variance was granted because the board found that enforcement of the Dallas Development Code would result in unnecessary hardship given the property's physical character and prior nonconforming conditions. The motion included the condition: “Compliance with the most recent version of all submitted plans are required.” The motion passed with four affirmative votes; a full five-member panel was not seated for the hearing.

Owners Troy Stuckey and Laura Steffy, who identified themselves as residents and owners of 5451 Vanderbilt, told the board that the infill amounts to roughly 12 square feet and was completed by a contractor who, the owners said, proceeded beyond the scope of the permits he had obtained. Stuckey and Steffy said they had since worked to resolve other permit-related issues and had pursued legal action against the contractor. Laura Steffy said the contractor “said it was easier for him to just do a straight line and fill in the whole thing,” and that changing the 12-square-foot infill now would be costly and disruptive.

A neighbor, Sarah Jane Fiorello of 5447 Vanderbilt, testified in support, saying, “I totally agree that this makes the house look better.” Fiorello told the board she has lived on Vanderbilt for 46 years and that the change is compatible with neighborhood character.

A conservation specialist on the city staff told the board that conservation staff supported the variance, saying, “Conservation is in support of this. As they alluded to, they're not exceeding an already non con nonconforming setback. They're just maintaining it. It's not causing an adverse effect on the structure, the property, or the district as a whole.” The owners also said they collected a signed petition from neighbors within 200 feet showing about 78% support.

Board members heard that the infill enclosed an area that predated recent work and that most houses on the north side of Vanderbilt were built before the 10-foot side-yard requirement and have similar nonconforming setbacks. The owners told the board that the infill aligns visually with the front and back setbacks and argued that leaving the work as-is would be less disruptive to the property and neighboring yards than removing it.

The board’s approval was announced at the hearing; the written letter documenting the action will be mailed to the applicant and become part of the public record.

Lower-priority details from the hearing: the owners said they had resolved a lawsuit with the contractor; they also said they are addressing other conservation-district items, including replacing a front window and moving a door to comply with district rules.