Zoning board grants 13-foot Whitehaven setback but denies higher-density townhouse variances

The Grand Island Zoning Board on July 10, 2025, approved a 13-foot front-yard setback variance for a proposed townhouse building at lot SPL 38.1-3-1.3 on Whitehaven Road but denied the applicant's requests to allow five units per building and to waive density rules, effectively limiting the site to three units.

The board's decision follows more than an hour of testimony from the applicant and multiple neighbors who said the proposed five-unit townhouse would change the character of the neighborhood, raise traffic and drainage concerns and reduce green space adjacent to the golf course. Board members said they were willing to grant the limited road-setback relief but not the denser configuration the applicant sought.

Applicant representatives described a luxury townhouse design that would back onto the golf course and said the parcel is roughly 25,000 square feet. They asked for three variances: a 13-foot reduction to the Whitehaven Road front-yard setback, permission to…