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Board grants 5-foot front-stoop variance for Winonga Road home
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a five-foot front-yard variance allowing a larger covered stoop at 8004 Winonga Road; applicant said the change aligns the house with neighboring porches and cited hardship tied to existing nonconforming conditions and lot features.
The Leawood Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve a five-foot variance to the front-yard setback at 8004 Winonga Road, allowing the homeowners to construct an eight-foot covered stoop that extends three feet beyond the otherwise permitted projection.
The applicant, who identified himself as Eric Scribe of 8004 Winonga Road, said he and his family moved from Derby, Kansas two years ago and have been remodeling a house that needed significant work. "We just like to add a, front stoop is it," Scribe said, adding the stoop would bring the front of his house in line with neighboring homes.
Staff explained the application is a variance, which requires the board to find that five legal criteria are met, including uniqueness and hardship. During discussion board members pointed to several lot-specific features raised by the applicant and staff that supported uniqueness: proximity to a back-of-lot creek (described in the record as a gulch/creek), an irregular fence line and the presence of railroad ties and a mature tree. One staff member noted the existing porch was a legal nonconforming structure that previously extended four feet. Board members observed that replacing the existing porch with a similarly sized or slightly larger porch could create a hardship if the legal nonconforming status prevented a like-for-like replacement.
The board voted through the five criteria individually — uniqueness, rights of adjacent property owners, hardship, public safety/general welfare, and spirit and intent — and announced affirmative votes for each. A board member moved to approve the variance request under LDO Section 16-2-5.3.D for the R-1 district; following a second, the motion passed. The chair noted the applicants and interested parties will receive written confirmation of the decision.
Board members and staff discussed site specifics, including a sanitary sewer line and a large tree near the house; Travis Torres, director of building and code enforcement, identified a line on the survey as a sanitary sewer and noted the presence of a sanitary manhole on the plan. The board recorded no public objections on the record during the hearing.
The approval allows the homeowners to proceed with design and building-permit steps consistent with the variance; remaining technical approvals (e.g., permits, inspections) were not detailed in the hearing.
