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Boulder board approves setback variance for historic home at 2041 Fifth Street
Summary
The Boulder Board of Zoning Adjustment voted unanimously to allow a roughly 42-square-foot front entry addition to a contributing 1913 home at 2041 Fifth Street, granting a variance to reduce the north setback to about 10.3 feet where 25 feet is required.
The Boulder Board of Zoning Adjustment voted unanimously to approve a setback variance for 2041 Fifth Street that will allow a roughly 42-square-foot expansion of the home’s front entry, reducing the north setback to about 10.3 feet where 25 feet is required.
Staff recommended approval, citing historic-preservation review and the board’s review criteria. Robbie (staff member) told the board that the house, built circa 1913 and listed as a contributing building in the Mableton Historic District, had already received an approved historic alteration certificate (HIS 202400191) and that “staff does feel that criterion 4 and 5 are being fully met and are recommending approval of the request as it has been presented within the application.”
Applicant Samuel Austin, the project architect, said the modest exterior change is driven by interior code requirements for the staircase. “We need to add some treads, some risers and wider treads, and that eats up about 3 feet on the inside. So to get this… this is the minimum way to create a… comfortable stair that complies with the code,” Austin said.
The property is a corner lot with split zoning: the western one-fifth is RMX-1 and the eastern four-fifths is RL-1. Because the addition and the existing structure fall within the RL-1 portion, staff applied RL-1 standards. Under the city’s adjacency rule, the north yard is treated as a front yard because it abuts a neighboring front yard; that rule makes the north setback 25 feet. The proposed addition would result in a north setback of about 10.3 feet (approximately the same as the existing closest point at about 10.2 feet).
City staff reported no increase in building coverage or floor-area ratio beyond current allowances: the lot is 7,243 square feet; maximum allowed building coverage for this property was cited as 2,491 square feet while the proposed coverage is 1,381 square feet. Proposed total floor area including the small addition was listed as 1,705 square feet against a maximum of 3,541 square feet. Staff said solar access, side-yard wall articulation and building height would not be affected by the small addition and that those items will be verified at building-permit review.
The board had no public comment related to the item. When the board moved to vote, the motion to approve BOZ2024-00017 carried 4-0 (Drew: aye; Katie: aye; Ben: aye; Jill: aye). The board’s concurrence tracked staff’s finding that the request met the variance criteria for designated historic properties (criterion 4) and the standard variance criteria (criterion 5).
With the variance approved, the applicant may proceed with the next steps in the permitting process, including submitting building-permit documents for final verification of compliance with applicable codes.
