Pataskala board approves variances to allow 6-foot fence and reduced shed setbacks on three-frontage lot

Pataskala City’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Nov. 12 approved variance application VA 25-039, allowing a 6-foot privacy fence and reduced setbacks for a 16-by-12-foot shed on a lot that the city treats as having three frontages.

Planning staff said the property faces Town Street and two alleys, which code treats as three front yards and therefore triggers a 25-foot front-yard setback on all three sides. The applicant sought three variances: permission to build a 6-foot privacy fence where a front-yard fence is limited to 4 feet, reduced fence setbacks where the fence would extend near alleyways, and reduced front-yard setbacks for a proposed 16x12 shed (staff described the proposed shed as 10 feet from the southern property line and 18.5 feet from the eastern property line).

Property owner Matthew Pierce testified that the pad on the lot places the structure about 12 feet from the property line rather than 10 feet as stated in the staff report and said the fence line likely sits slightly inside the property. Pierce also said the proposed fence material will be white PVC for privacy.

Board members reviewed the findings of fact required for a variance and concluded that the lot’s three-frontage configuration constituted a unique circumstance that supported the requested relief. A motion to approve VA 25-039, conditioned on the applicant obtaining all necessary building and zoning permits from the City of Pataskala and the Licking County Building Department within one year, carried on roll call.

The applicant may proceed with permit applications; staff reminded the property owner to submit required plans and apply for the fence and building permits noted in the conditions of approval.