El Paso County board approves reduced setback for shed at 4390 Dooley Way

El Paso County Board of Adjustment members voted unanimously to approve a dimensional variance that permits a shed at 4390 Dooley Way to sit 1.6 feet from the property line where the code requires 5 feet. The board took the action after the applicant, Joseph Stroup, and staff clarified property-line measurements and the applicant agreed on the record to modify his request.

The measure matters because the applicant had constructed the shed before realizing it needed zoning approval; the board relied on equitable considerations and the lot’s physical constraints in its decision. Lisa Elgin, project manager for Planning and Community Development, told the board the request originally sought "3 feet on the southerly side setback where 5 feet is required." Elgin also said the county had notified 12 surrounding property owners and received no letters of opposition.

Joseph Stroup, the homeowner and applicant, told the board the shed "actually sits 3 feet from the property line as we speak" and said he stopped construction after receiving a notice of violation. Stroup described the lot as small (0.119 acre) and said prior drainage and retaining-wall work limited where the structure could go. He said storage costs and his wife's medical condition motivated the location choice, and that the shed would be finished to match the house.

Joe Sandstrom of the Department of Public Works said the property is not in a regulatory floodplain and no drainage report or grading and erosion control plan was required because the project adds only a small amount of impervious surface. The Security (sic) drainage basin was noted but no basin fees applied. Fire-department comments accepted the proposal provided 36 inches of clearance to allow access into the backyard.

Board members discussed uncertainty about the exact property line because the applicant had not submitted a certified survey. Member Joseph Rexrode raised the concern that the site plan appears trapezoidal and that the minimum clearance might be less than stated without a survey. County Attorney Stephen Clapety advised there was no objection to the applicant verbally modifying the request on the record. On the record, Stroup amended the application to request "1 foot 6 inches as a modification" where 5 feet is required.

Keith Wood moved to approve the resolution (standard resolution No. 3) to grant the variance as modified, citing equitable considerations and exceptional hardship; Joseph Rexrode seconded. The vote was 5–0: Keith Wood, Frank Tank, Joseph Rexrode, Randy McSparren and Chair Kevin Curry voted aye and the variance was approved with "2 conditions and 2 notations" as stated in the motion. The staff packet and motion referenced two conditions and two notations but did not specify their text in the public hearing transcript.

The board recorded that the approval was based on the unique lot configuration, the shed’s existing construction and letters of neighbor support. The applicant and a neighbor, Kenny Johnson, testified they had no objection to the proposed modification. The board closed public testimony and approved the modified variance unanimously.