Board of Zoning Appeals approves Kirkwood garage with privacy conditions, defers Moss Rose rebuild request

The Metro Nashville Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 4 approved several property variances and deferred one request pending more detailed plans.

Most immediately, the board granted a variance for a detached garage on Kirkwood Avenue that exceeded the accessory height limit, subject to conditions negotiated between the appellant and nearby neighbors. The board approved the measure 5–1 after the appellant’s attorney and a council member described a post-hearing agreement to remove rear windows and install tall native evergreens as a privacy buffer.

The board also voted to defer indefinitely an application for 4116 Moss Rose Drive that would relocate a rebuilt house forward of a FEMA-designated buffer. Applicants said the prior home burned and the lot’s topography and floodway buffers constrain where a new house can go. Board members and the applicant’s architect said the site shows a likely hardship tied to topography and federal stormwater buffer rules but noted the application lacked a specific site plan. The board voted 6–0 to defer until the applicant submits a site plan and clarifies stormwater/buffer details with Metro Stormwater.

Other business: the board approved a consent renewal for case 2020-583 (6657 Cabot) by voice vote, approved a street-setback variance for a proposed single-family house at 3000 Brightwood Avenue (case 2020-584) based on the curve and orientation of the street, and approved a variance to legalize additional accessory square footage at 816 Kirkwood Avenue (owner Sherry Oates). The Brightwood vote was 6–0; the…