Lorain Zoning Board approves library and neighborhood variances, holds density request for more study

The Lorain Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday approved multiple variances affecting residential fences, accessory structures and a library-owned parcel while holding a separate density proposal for further review.

Ron Coco, agent for the Lorain Public Library, asked the board to grant several variances for a West 6th Street parcel the library owns, saying the site would be repurposed to provide vehicle and facility maintenance space for the library system. Coco said the project requires relief on side-yard setbacks and driveway spacing and noted the lot is a legal nonconforming parcel for certain dimensional standards. Planning staff told the board those dimensional items are noted but that the two advertised variances before the board were the required items; the board approved the requested variances subject to confirmation the project meets section 1141.6 and pending approval of the library’s final development plan.

Also on the agenda, the board approved a residential setback variance for Alfonso Gonzalez, who said a corner lot and a 24-foot house footprint necessitate a 15-foot front-yard and a 14-foot rear-yard variance at 2743 Randall Street. The board voted to approve the request, and planning staff advised the Gonzalez variance is valid for one year and may expire if construction does not begin within that period.

At 2920 Broadway Avenue, Legacy 357 LLC, represented by Jeremiah DeWitt, received a variance to allow a 4-foot front-yard fence after staff said a fence had been placed without a permit on a property the city has characterized as a vacant former funeral home. "We actually thought that the fence was approved in the last review board hearing," DeWitt said. Building and housing staff told the board that no permit had been issued for the fence and that, if a property is vacant more than a year, the owner must file a vacancy registration with the City of Lorain.

The board also approved a 20-by-20 addition to an accessory structure at 1209 Wood Road for Sayvin Barbee; Bill Wood, representing the Barbee family, said the addition is needed because multiple adults and vehicles live at the home. Clinton Beam received approval for a 4-foot semi-privacy fence at 7026 Oak Tree Drive South; staff read a neighbor email from Lehi Wilkins expressing concern about non-uniform fence heights, and Beam explained his 4-foot frontage proposal is along the road while a 6-foot privacy fence would be installed elsewhere on the lot to match adjacent yards.

The board held BA 45-2024, a request to allow 138 units at 3301 Mysore Road (R2 Transitional Residential), after the applicant requested more time while completing a traffic study.

Board decisions were handled through motions and voice votes. For items where vote detail was noted in the record: VA 48-2024 (2920 Broadway Avenue) recorded one abstention on the vote; other motions were recorded as carried by the board. Planning and building staff told applicants to follow up with building-permit submittals and that variance decisions would be mailed to applicants. "We will follow up with all of the applicants to provide a letter to them with the status of their application," staff said.

What happens next: applicants were instructed to submit required permits or final development plans to the building and planning departments; the board’s approvals for the library parcel were conditional on compliance with section 1141.6 and later planning commission sign-off. The meeting was adjourned after routine follow-up questions about timelines for issued letters.