The Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Rapid City Planning Commission approved permits July 10 allowing a homeowner to build a 1,000-square-foot detached garage at 1301 East Saint Charles Street.

Cassie Hayes, a current planner with the Department of Community Development, told the boards the variance request is to "reduce the front yard setback from 35 feet to 20 feet for a detached garage." Hayes said the property is zoned Medium Density Residential and noted an inconsistency in the city code that treats detached garages differently depending on whether a lot takes access from a local street.

Hayes said the existing house on the lot is 662 square feet and that the applicant proposes a 1,000-square-foot garage sited about 52 feet east of the dwelling. She described planned changes to site access—two approaches will be removed and replaced by a single access off East Saint Charles Street—and noted mature trees along the south and east property lines that will help screen the garage.

Commissioner Vicky thanked the applicant, Jim Letner, for pointing out the code discrepancy and said staff will prepare an ordinance amendment to correct the inconsistent front-yard setback provisions. "We will amend the ordinance to ensure that we're still protecting neighborhoods from those larger, structures," Vicky said.

At the Zoning Board hearing, the board approved the variance to reduce the front-yard setback to 20 feet. At a later Planning Commission hearing the commission approved the conditional-use permit for the oversized garage, subject to standard stipulations and an amendment to stipulation two to require the garage match the residence's color scheme but not require the same stucco building material.

Applicant Jim Letner said he could "certainly match the color of the building" but that he did not want to construct the garage in stucco because the house is in poor condition and a non-stucco garage would be more appropriate. Commissioners debated that color matching would visually tie the structures together while removing the material requirement would avoid imposing an unusual hardship on the property owner.

Both approvals include conditions intended to ensure screening and to maintain sidewalk and right-of-way clearance. Staff indicated the draft ordinance amendment correcting the setback inconsistency will be bundled with other setback and area regulation changes and brought to the Planning Commission and City Council for later action.

The approvals mean the property owner may proceed with the proposed garage, subject to building permit review and the stated stipulations.