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Board Approves Slight Increase in Lot Coverage for RN1 Property Citing Lot Shape
Summary
The BZA approved a modest increase in impervious coverage from 40% to 43% for a Sequoia Hills lot after the applicant said alternatives (like replacing the U‑shaped driveway with gravel) were impractical and staff noted the lot had long‑standing nonconforming coverage.
The City Board of Zoning Appeals voted to allow a small increase in impervious coverage for a property in the RN1 district, raising the maximum from 40% to 43% to permit a rear covered porch addition while keeping a new one‑car garage over existing driveway area.
Planning staff explained that the lot’s existing configuration already showed nonconforming coverage (reported as 42% in the application packet) and that historical aerials and permit records indicated the lot’s hardscape has remained largely unchanged since at least 1985. Staff asked the applicant whether existing impervious areas could be removed to avoid a variance.
Applicant Sarah Martin said most of the work is interior and that the proposed one‑car garage would be placed over existing driveway impervious area so it would not increase coverage; deepening a partially existing rear covered porch would add a small amount of coverage. Martin said alternatives, such as converting the U‑shaped driveway to gravel, would be costly and unattractive. “It would be kind of an extreme measure in our opinion,” she said of a conversion to gravel.
Board members noted the lot’s unusual triangular shape and topography in Sequoia Hills and that nearby properties similarly vary; a motion to approve BZA250077 based on odd lot shape and topography passed by voice vote.
Because the proposed garage sits over existing impervious surface, the board’s approval focused on a modest net increase driven by the porch addition; the applicant may still need building permits and must follow standard permitting procedures.
