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BZA approves 30‑foot driveway approach at 510 College Street; sidewalk replacement required
Summary
The Angola City Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance to allow a 30‑foot driveway approach at 510 College Street to improve vehicle maneuvering for the Miller family, with a condition from city engineering requiring the existing sidewalk within the proposed driveway to be replaced with 6‑inch concrete.
The Angola City Board of Zoning Appeals on April 28 approved a variance allowing a 30‑foot driveway width at the right of way for property at 510 College Street, contingent on complying with conditions set by the city engineer to replace the existing sidewalk in the driveway area with 6‑inch concrete.
Staff said the property is zoned Traditional Residential under Title 18 of the Unified Development Ordinance and that the standard driveway approach at the right of way is 20 feet; the applicant requested a 30‑foot approach to align with a misaligned garage opening. The staff report noted one phone inquiry from a neighbor and recommended approval with the city engineer’s conditions.
Applicant Aaron Miller told the board that the garage is offset from the driveway and that widening the approach to the south by about 10 feet would allow vehicles to enter and exit without complex maneuvers. “Our family is big. It’s a larger family. We got lots of kiddos,” Miller said, explaining the practical difficulty caused by the misalignment and the desire to keep cars off the street.
The engineering department required removal of the existing sidewalk within the proposed driveway area and replacement with a 6‑inch concrete slab; the board made that requirement a condition of approval. After board members reviewed the standard variance findings and confirmed the proposal meets separation standards to the local street intersection, a member moved to approve the request with the engineering condition, another member seconded, and the motion passed.
Staff and board members discussed that many recent new houses include three‑bay garages, producing repeated requests for wider approaches; the planning staff said amending the Unified Development Ordinance to allow a larger standard approach (for example, 30 feet) may be considered in the future to reduce recurring variances.
The applicant was told to obtain permits and to follow the engineering department’s sidewalk replacement detail when proceeding.
