Zoning board approves front- and side-yard variances for 261 East Walnut expansion

The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant variances to Alexandra Zoli to allow first- and second-floor extensions and porch/front-yard and east-side-yard relief at 261 East Walnut Street.

Zoli, who said she has owned the house since 2009 and described it as a 1925-built “hundred year old home,” told the board the changes are intended to add usable bedroom and living space while preserving the house’s architectural character. “I may be the only person who’s excited to dig in the record,” Zoli said during her presentation; she also described efforts to align the proposed new front yard with neighboring houses and to minimize roofline changes by limiting the east-side adjustment.

Board members questioned alternatives and whether the work could be done elsewhere on the structure. Commissioners reviewed plan dimensions (the proposed front yard measured roughly 13 feet, where code requires 20 feet; an east-side setback proposed at about 4 feet versus required 5 or 8 feet, depending on the provision) and heard that adjacent neighbors had submitted letters of support. No members of the public spoke in opposition at the hearing. A motion to grant the application passed and the board recorded the application as granted.

The applicant is responsible for following all building-department permitting and inspection requirements before construction begins.