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Board approves use variance for 163 Ann Street NE with conditions
Summary
The Grand Rapids City Board of Zoning Appeals approved a use variance for 163 Ann Street NE to allow a professional office and similarly low‑intensity commercial uses on the first floor, with the second floor remaining residential. Approval included conditions on signage and a requirement that the owner notify planning before a tenant change.
The Grand Rapids City Board of Zoning Appeals approved a use variance for 163 Ann Street Northeast on a motion finding the property’s long‑standing commercial storefront and corner orientation meet the variance standards.
Planning staff told the board the two‑story building sits in the Creston neighborhood within a compact‑neighborhood future land‑use area and that, under the requested use variance, the property would meet parking requirements. Staff said a professional office use requires five parking spaces and the apartment on the second floor requires two, and that mixed‑use parking reductions could reduce the total required spaces; staff recommended adding medical office and retail to the approved uses to avoid repeat variance applications.
The applicant, Rob Daverna, said he walked the neighborhood, left letters for nearby homes and spoke with an adjacent resident who reported no objection. "I did drop letters off at all the houses," Daverna said, adding he had not received calls raising concerns. He also told the board the building lost its prior commercial designation and the variance was needed to restore an active commercial use.
Board discussion focused on the intensity of permitted uses and how parking and tenant changes would be managed. Planning staff told the board that if the variance allows additional uses beyond professional office, enforcement and compliance would be triggered by a change in tenant or by permits for improvements. One member summarized the variance standards and said the property’s existing commercial configuration and past uses supported approval.
The board voted to approve the use variance with conditions that signage conform to the signage rules for comparable traditional neighborhood business areas and that the owner or applicant must communicate with the planning office before a change in tenancy so that zoning compliance and any necessary parking review will be triggered. The board did not specify an alternate enforcement mechanism beyond usual planning and permitting checks.
The approval restores legal authority for a first‑floor commercial use at 163 Ann Street NE; the applicant and staff must now implement the approved use subject to the stated conditions.
