At a meeting of the City of North Ridgeville Board of Zoning and Building Appeals, the board approved a variance that allows Robert B. and Joy A. Hayes to construct a 30-by-40 pole building in the front yard of their 8.29-acre property at 9210 Bender Road, despite a city code provision limiting outbuildings to rear yards.

The city’s economic development director told the board that the parcel is irregularly shaped, contains wetlands, and has a long driveway with the primary residence located about 750 feet from the right-of-way and the proposed building sited approximately 500 feet from the street line. “Although located between a dwelling and a street, therefore, technically, front yard by definition, the building would be well removed from public view and screened by distance and vegetation,” the economic development director said.

Robert B. Hayes, the applicant and property owner, told the board the area “is all wetlands, so we don't have a lot of options in that area,” and presented a site drawing to illustrate the proposed location. Staff reported an existing barn sits between the house and the street and that the proposed pole building would be on the opposite side of the driveway from the barn.

Board members discussed the standard factors applied to variance requests (often called Duncan factors): whether the property can yield a reasonable return without the variance; the substantiality of the variance; the potential effect on the character of the neighborhood; any adverse effect on government services; whether the owner bought the property with knowledge of the restrictions; and whether reasonable alternatives exist. Members said the lot’s configuration, wetlands and the cost of extending utilities or driveway access supported a finding of practical difficulty and that the intent of the code — to prevent accessory structures from obstructing views from the street — would be preserved by the building’s distance and screening.

No audience members objected. The chair moved to approve the application; the motion was seconded and the clerk took roll. Kane, Weaver, Toth and Masterson voted yes; Grama was recorded as excused. The motion carried unanimously of those present. The board directed staff to provide the applicant with the paperwork; staff said the building-department documents would be available Monday.

The board’s action approves the variance request described in application PPZ2025-0388 submitted by Robert B. and Joy A. Hayes. The city code cited during the hearing was Section 1294.03E1, which limits outbuildings to rear yards.