Harrisonburg planning panel backs staff change to reduce rear-yard setback from 25 to 10 feet for through lots in UR district

The Harrisonburg Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward a staff-recommended amendment to the City Council that would reduce the minimum setback for accessory buildings on through lots in the UR District from 25 feet to 10 feet.

The change responds to a request from residents Miranda and Chance Ebersold, via their attorney Quentin Callahan, who asked the commission to allow accessory buildings to be sited five feet from the public street right-of-way along the established rear yard on through lots. Staff instead proposed a uniform 10-foot setback and recommended approval of that amendment to zoning ordinance section 10-3-1-14(d).

Staff said the ordinance as written makes the rear yard on through lots subject to the principal front yard setback. Because the UR District’s principal front setback is 25 feet, that rule prevents accessory buildings in an established rear yard from being closer than 25 feet to the public street right-of-way. Planning staff told commissioners they did not believe a five-foot setback would be appropriate across the UR District, citing sight-line and public-right-of-way concerns; they recommended 10 feet because it mirrors setbacks used in the city’s R-5 and R-8 districts and would allow for better sight distances and future street improvements.

Quentin Callahan, attorney for the Ebersolds, said the applicants had reduced their original request (a one-foot variance sought before the Board of Zoning Appeals) to five feet and then to a compromise point after discussion with staff. Callahan said the primary reason for the smaller setback request was to preserve floor area for an accessory building on a 60-foot-wide lot. "Five feet, it reduces a potential building by 250 square feet," Callahan said, and added that the homeowners run local small businesses and need additional storage. He also said, "5 feet is roughly the width of a normal sidewalk," to argue the reduced setback is not unusual in the downtown corridor.

Staff noted the Board of Zoning Appeals had recently denied the Ebersolds’ variance request while granting similar variances for other properties on the same street in earlier years. Commissioners and staff discussed the ordinance’s accessory structure limit — accessory buildings "shall not occupy more than 30% of the required rear yard" — and debated how setbacks and the 30% rule interact on through lots. Planning staff explained the 30% test applies to the required rear yard area; commissioners asked staff to revisit whether the 30% limitation remains appropriate in some scenarios.

After extended discussion about sight lines on the substandard East Bruce Street (the rear street for the Ebersold lot), the history of prior variances on Franklin Street, and the distinct conditions of through lots in Old Town Harrisonburg, a commissioner moved to accept staff’s recommendation of a 10-foot setback; the motion carried on a roll-call vote with Commissioners Alcindy, Finnegan, Washington, Councilmember Dent and Chair Baugh voting aye. The commission’s favorable recommendation sends the staff-modified zoning ordinance amendment to City Council, where commissioners said the item is scheduled to appear on the March 11 agenda.

Commissioners also recorded a desire to revisit the 30% restriction governing accessory structures in a future zoning discussion, saying the rule might unnecessarily constrain some accessory dwelling or storage options depending on a principal building’s position on a lot.

Votes at a glance: Planning Commission favorably recommended the staff-drafted zoning ordinance amendment to reduce accessory-building setbacks on through lots in the UR District to a minimum of 10 feet; vote was unanimous (5–0). The measure will go to City Council with a favorable recommendation.