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Commission grants setback variance for farm garage after averaging nearby structures
Summary
A request to add an 18-by-30 garage on a homestead was approved after the commission averaged the setbacks of three existing farmyard structures and set a compromise 73-foot setback from the centerline.
The commission approved a zoning variance to allow an 18-by-30-foot garage to be built closer to the county road than current setback rules allow. The applicant, identified in the hearing as Taylor, told the board the house was roughly 93 feet from the road centerline and the proposed garage layout required a variance.
Planning staff and commissioners reviewed the county setback ordinance, which sets a 100-foot minimum on minor township roads but allows the planning commission to determine setbacks based on the average of existing adjacent uses. Commissioners applied that averaging approach to three existing farmyard structures (the house, the original barn and a shop) and computed an average setback of 73 feet on the north side; the board approved the variance by voice vote.
The approval was limited to the site and plan presented; commissioners emphasized the decision was based on the existing farmstead pattern and grandfathered development and not intended to establish a general exception to setbacks in other contexts.
Action: commissioners voted to approve the variance; staff will document the decision and the adjusted setback in the permit file.
