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Zoning board approves 2-lot subdivision at 121 N. Blair over neighbor objections, 6–2
Summary
The board voted 6–2 to grant variances allowing a two-lot split at 121 North Blair despite neighborhood opposition citing parking, stormwater and allegations the purchaser created the hardship. Applicant argued the lots match the block’s 45-foot pattern and noted historic platting from 1917.
The Royal Oak Zoning Board of Appeals approved a petition to split one parcel at 121 North Blair into two 45-foot-wide lots by a 6–2 vote after a lengthy public hearing that drew multiple neighbors opposed to the split.
Staff told the board the proposed lots would each be about 5,694–5,695 square feet, short of the zoning ordinance’s 6,000-square-foot minimum. Staff said the proposal met the ordinance’s frontage and depth compatibility provisions for the block but required variances for the lot area of roughly 305–306 square feet per lot.
Dennis Cowan, representing owner Lou Dohmen, said the request is modest (about 5.1% of the required 6,000 square feet), noted the block was platted in 1917 and argued the parcel configuration predated the city’s 6,000-square-foot standard. Cowan and the owner said administrative consolidation of the lots for tax purposes created the present situation and that the split would bring the site back into harmony with surrounding lots.
Neighbors opposed the split in public comment, presenting a petition and letters in opposition. Speakers including Jason Edberg and Natalia, who live on the block, said the petitioner purchased the property recently and was pursuing a speculative subdivision that would worsen parking, reduce green space, increase impervious surface and aggravate runoff and flooding in the combined sewer area.
Board members weighed those neighborhood concerns against the lot’s historic configuration and neighborhood pattern. Several members described the single large lot as an anomaly on a street of mostly 45-foot lots and supported allowing the split; others noted strong neighborhood opposition and questioned whether the hardship was self-created.
After debate the board voted 6–2 to approve the lot split; staff indicated the petitioner may need to modify or relocate the existing garage and obtain necessary permits to ensure the new lots meet accessory coverage and other zoning limits.
