Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oak Grove denies variance after neighbors say builder placed foundation inside 40-foot plat line
Summary
The Oak Grove Board of Alderwomen denied a variance for 2200 Horseshoe Drive after staff and neighbors said the foundation was built roughly 21 feet from the front property line, violating the Green Oaks Plat 1 40-foot building line; Plan & Zoning had recommended denial 7–0 and residents submitted a petition opposing the variance.
The Oak Grove Board of Alderwomen on Nov. 6 denied a variance request for a home at 2200 Horseshoe Drive after city staff and multiple neighbors said the foundation was constructed at approximately 21 feet from the front property line rather than the 40-foot building line platted for Green Oaks Subdivision Plat 1.
City staff (Matt) told the board the applicant, identified in the record as Jeff Barker of Barker Home Building LLC, had submitted a plot plan showing the foundation at the required 40-foot line but then proceeded to build the foundation at 21 feet. Staff said the plat requirement (40 feet) is separate from the city's R‑1 zoning minimum setback of 25 feet and that, because the foundation sits at approximately 21 feet, two separate variances would be required: one from the plat (Board of Aldermen authority) and one from the zoning code (Board of Zoning Adjustment under state statute). "Staff is of the opinion that the applicant has created a self-inflicted hardship resulting from their location of the foundation," Matt said, and noted the Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended unanimous denial (7–0) at its Oct. 29 public hearing.
Residents speaking during the public hearing urged denial. A petition read into the record by City Clerk Kim Drury said 16 Green Oaks homeowners who could not attend asked the board to "vote against the setback measurement of 21 feet at 2200." Neighbors offered testimony detailing visual impacts, concerns about sidewalks and property values, and allegations about the builder's conduct. Lucas Laderne told the board the builder "chose not to follow those guidelines," and Ted Knox said the action appeared intentional: "He did this with premeditation."
Developer-resident Fred Lecluse, who said he set 40-foot setbacks in Green Oaks to keep houses spaced out, told the board he had tried to obtain the surveyor's explanation and favored removing the foundation. Adjacent neighbor Carl Carlson said he had watched construction in the subdivision for 25 years and said the closer placement would "have a negative impact on pretty much the entire subdivision." The petition and testimony emphasized that the approved plot plan showed the 40-foot setback.
Board members echoed staff that the hardship appeared self-inflicted. Pam (the planning and zoning liaison) and Mayor Dana Webb each said they had voted to deny the variance at Planning & Zoning and reaffirmed their positions at the council meeting. One board member moved to deny the variance for Green Oaks Plat 1, Lot 18; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
The board did not adopt a condition that would allow a lesser setback; staff noted the applicant had withdrawn a deeper BZA variance request but still faces the issue that portions of the foundation would remain noncompliant even if a 25-foot variance were granted. Staff and several board members suggested the builder pursue remedies with a surveyor and acknowledged the financial cost to correct the foundation falls to the builder.
The denial preserves the plat's 40-foot building line for Lot 18 and follows the Planning & Zoning Commission's 7–0 recommendation to deny. The record shows no response from the applicant on the meeting record; the board moved on to subsequent agenda items after the vote.
