Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Variance Shed 72 Mercury topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves variance for backyard shed at 72 Mercury Avenue
Summary
The Tiburon Design Review Board granted a side-setback variance for a backyard storage shed at 72 Mercury Avenue, with board members encouraging neighbor screening though declining to add conditions.
Chris Soukour, owner of 72 Mercury Avenue, told the Tiburon Town Design Review Board on April 17 that he seeks a setback variance to place a prefabricated storage shed near the side property line after converting his garage to living space.
Soukour said the proposal is driven by site constraints: a steep grade in the rear yard and several mature trees in the rear setback that would need removal to place the shed at the rear of the lot. He described the structure as an approximately 96-square-foot storage shed placed in the side setback to preserve trees and sight lines from the house.
No members of the public spoke. Board members visiting the site said the shed footprint was benign and that the loss of trees would be undesirable. One member raised concern about the shed’s high side (about 8 feet 6 inches), which faces the adjacent property and suggested the applicant consider rotating the unit or adding landscape screening to reduce perceived massing. The applicant told the board he had communicated with neighbors and that there was not a written objection on file.
Board members expressed support for the variance and declined to add a screening condition absent a neighbor objection. The board adopted the draft resolution finding the required facts and granted the variance; the motion passed with all members present voting in favor. The board recorded the project as categorically exempt from CEQA.
Board members encouraged “good neighbor” screening between owner and neighbor, but did not make screening a permit condition.
