Ames City Zoning Board Approves Variance for 814 Wilson Avenue With Conditions

The Ames City Zoning Board of Adjustment on Dec. 11 approved a variance for a partially constructed single-family home at 814 Wilson Avenue, granting exceptions to several Single-Family Conservation Overlay standards with conditions meant to reduce the visual prominence of a front-facing garage.

Planner Justin Moore told the board that the permit for the house had been issued in May, but later review and a field check found design elements that did not meet overlay standards and that construction was roughly 70% complete when the deficiencies were identified. Moore said staff found the project met most variance criteria but could not find it satisfied the "spirit of the ordinance," and staff therefore did not recommend approval as submitted. "We were not able to recommend support for a variance due to that standard not being met," Moore said.

Applicant representative GV Albright of Keystone Equity Group said the builder had acted in good faith when applying for the building permit and described technical and marketability difficulties in removing or relocating the garage because the house is built around it. Albright offered changes including reducing the garage from two-car to one-car, adding porch posts and a railing, switching window designs to verticals, and investigating minor grade changes to reduce exposed foundation height.

Neighbor Matt Kennes of 820 Wilson addressed the board during public comment, calling the situation "an unfortunate situation" and saying the revised elevation "does look better" than the partially built facade.

Board members spent substantial time weighing the overlay's purpose—preserving neighborhood character through porch prominence, roof pitch and garage placement—against hardship created by construction already underway and by earlier permitting oversights. Staff acknowledged an internal error: inspection/permitting staff did not identify the overlay on the permit and thus did not flag facade design issues at initial review.

To address the board's concerns, the board approved Alternative 2 and attached conditions to the variances. The conditions, as stated in the motion, include acceptance of the applicant's proposed vertical window design; allowance of a 12-inch foundation exposure in place of the 18 inches required; a porch design that includes posts on both the left and right sides with a connecting railing; reduction of the garage to a single-car width; removal of the contemporary stone wainscot on the garage face or replacement with materials the staff deems compatible (staff to evaluate options including siding or limited brick accents); and a requirement that the garage door and surrounding trim be painted to match the home's siding to minimize prominence.

The motion to approve with those conditions was moved by the Chair and seconded by White House. During a roll call the board recorded votes in favor (McDaniel: yes; Schneider: yes; Patton: yes; White House: yes) and declared the motion passed. The board advised that appeals must be filed within 30 days of the decision.

The approval permits the applicant to proceed only after the specified conditions are incorporated into final plans; staff confirmed that if the board wants staff latitude to finalize material details, that latitude must be written into the approval for staff to enforce. The board closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting.

Votes at a glance: variance for 814 Wilson Avenue — Approved (motion: adopt Alternative 2, with conditions; mover: Chair (unnamed); second: White House; roll-call yes votes recorded: McDaniel, Schneider, Patton, White House).