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Elkhart BZA approves 17-foot garage; setback variance removed
Summary
The Elkhart City Board of Zoning Appeals on July 10 approved a height variance to allow a 17-foot detached garage at 202 East Crawford Street and removed the petitioners' request for a rear-setback variance.
The Elkhart City Board of Zoning Appeals on July 10 approved a variance allowing a 17-foot detached garage at 202 East Crawford Street for petitioners Randall Conley and Kim Jennings, after the petitioners removed a separate request for a reduced rear setback.
Staff and the petitioners told the board the altered request would allow the garage roof pitch to match the two-story historic house. Kyle Anthony Petter, Planner II for the City of Elkhart, described the request as a developmental variance to vary from section 26.1.b.3 (setback for accessory structures) and section 26.1.b.5 (maximum accessory-structure height). Petitioner Randall Conley said he preferred the roof pitch match the house and that, "the 2 foot variance on the property isn't really necessary," because he could place the 24-by-30 garage five feet from the north property line and still meet his needs.
Petition materials and the staff report presented the height variance as a 2-foot increase (from the 15-foot maximum to 17 feet) and noted the proposed structure would be accessed from Gordon Street and partially visible from East Crawford. Staff recommended approval, saying the garage would be built to applicable building codes and that the size is common for detached residential structures.
Letters to nearby property owners numbered 37; the record included one returned in favor and one returned opposed. The opposed letter said the petitioner in the 1980s built an oversized garage too close to the property line without a permit and erected fencing without a permit. The board discussed whether to keep the setback variance in the request and ultimately considered the petition with the setback variance removed.
A board member moved to "approve nominal variance 25BZA15, removing the setback variance, and adopt the petitioners' documents and presentation together with the staff's findings of fact as the board's findings of fact in the present petition." A second was recorded and the roll call vote was unanimous (Mulvaney — yes; Newbill — yes; Elijah Rykov — yes). The motion carried and the variance to allow a 17-foot accessory structure was approved.
Because the board was operating with a three-member quorum, the board chair reminded participants that any vote must be unanimous for action to stand. The approval permits the petitioners to proceed with construction subject to building-permit review and standard code compliance.
