ZBA Approves Small Shed and Driveway Parking Variance at Western Way to Enable Mudroom for Resident with Disability

The Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment approved on Oct. 22 a variance allowing an 8x10 shed in a heavily treed portion of the front yard and a front‑yard parking setback to permit one required parking space in the driveway while the owner converts one bay of a two‑car garage into a mudroom and interior stair.

Architect Max Hayden testified the lot is unusually shaped and that many neighboring properties on Western Way lack garages or have single‑car garages; he and applicant Virginia Bridal said the conversion provides a dedicated, ground‑level entrance to a second‑floor "pajama room" to support a young adult with an intellectual disability who lives nearby and uses the space for daytime respite. Counsel and staff noted the municipal cartway and right‑of‑way configuration reduce available private yard area in front of the house.

Staff advised the board that the property currently exceeds the nominal FAR calculation used by the zoning office; the proposed conversion and shed will increase FAR modestly (staff documented a proposed FAR of 33.47% under the office method). The applicant described the shed as an 8x10 gable‑roof storage building, about 12 feet high, sited inside the existing treed buffer on the triangular point of the lot; Hayden said the shed would be largely screened from public view.

No members of the public registered objections at the meeting. The board voted to approve the requested variances and recorded the shed dimensions and height as conditions in the approval.

The board instructed staff to include the shed size (8 x 10 feet) and the approximate height in the resolution and to note that the converted garage bay will remain visually unchanged from the street; the applicant will maintain the existing frontage and the municipal staff will file the usual construction and zoning compliance paperwork.