Board of Zoning Appeals grants setback variance for Crowell property

The Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to grant a variance allowing reduced front- and rear-yard setbacks for a property owned by Greg and Lisa Crowell.

The board approved a variance to permit an 18-foot front-yard setback and an 8-foot rear-yard setback for a lot the planning staff described as a recorded parcel in a 1934 subdivision. The motion carried on a 4-0 roll-call vote: Chairman Sherman Williams and Members Armstrong, Patterson and Noelle voted yes; Member Perkins was absent.

Planning staff told the board the parcel is atypically shaped and about 4,965 square feet, roughly 2,534 square feet smaller than the minimum for the R-3 zoning district. Staff said the proposed 24-by-50-foot buildable area fits within the site and that lot coverage would remain about 24 percent, under the R-3 35 percent limit.

“This application is for a variance request for the front yard setback and the rear yard setback,” planning staff said, noting the subdivision dates to 1934 and that the lot’s configuration predates current zoning. Staff said the board may review variances for lots of record when existing parcel sizes do not meet current standards.

Under the city’s zoning code cited by staff, R-3 minimum setbacks were described as 25 feet front, 10 feet sides and 20 feet rear. Staff referenced the code’s nonconforming-lot and variance provisions and pointed to section 6.2, which allows a reduced front-yard setback to match adjacent development in older districts. Staff also noted the rear-yard separation to the accessory structure on the neighboring lot would be about 28 feet from the proposed building envelope.

Board members asked whether the condition exists because the lot predates modern zoning; staff confirmed the nonconforming status stems from the lot being recorded before the zoning standards were adopted. One member noted the situation is “pretty cut and dried” and consistent with how nonconforming-lot variances are typically considered.

A motion to grant the variance was made, seconded and approved on a roll call. The board’s findings, as stated during the meeting, were that the applicable standards for granting a variance had been met and that financial gain and historic-register status were not applicable to this request.

At the start of the meeting the board acknowledged that the applicant for agenda item 6(a), 810 North Main Street, had withdrawn that application and removed it from consideration. The board also approved the amended agenda and the minutes from the prior meeting by voice vote before taking up the Crowell variance. The meeting concluded after the variance vote and brief closing business.

Details the board and staff cited at the meeting included the lot’s recorded status in an older subdivision (circa 1934), the parcel area (about 4,965 square feet), a proposed buildable box of roughly 24 by 50 feet, requested setbacks (18-foot front, 8-foot rear), and a stated lot coverage of about 24 percent compared with a 35 percent maximum in R-3.