Garden City homeowners ask council to reconsider 35-foot map notation; council takes no action

John Bolf, a resident of the Plantation subdivision, asked the Garden City Council on Aug. 11 to reconsider a 35-foot “maximum height” notation on the River Club SAP map, saying the map had been presented as a promise to nearby homeowners about how tall structures would appear from existing yards. “This agreement was a promise from the SAP applicant and the city of Garden City as to what this effect would be on surrounding people,” Bolf said.

Applicant representative John Wardle told the council the adopted findings, the development agreement and the SAP-specific code define building height as the vertical distance measured from the average elevation of proposed finished grade at the front of the building to the highest point. Wardle said that measurement—adopted in the findings—limits buildings to 35 feet as defined by the code and asked the council not to grant reconsideration.

Council discussion focused on the legal question of what the map notation meant and whether the code or the map controls. Bolf argued the notation should be read as the maximum visible height from existing grade and noted nearby property distances—he said the Stoddards are about 20 feet from the proposed property, the Pattersons about 85 feet, and another neighbor about 108 feet—arguing that raising finished grade plus a 35-foot structure would exceed what homeowners were led to expect. Wardle answered that the record and the adopted findings specify the height definition tied to the adopted code.

A motion to move the reconsideration item to a future date (Aug. 25) was made but died for lack of a second. The mayor explained that if the council takes no motion, the reconsideration is not acted on that night and—by process—would be deemed denied after a 60‑day period unless acted upon.

The matter concluded without a formal vote to reconsider.