Wildwood board approves variance to preserve 19th-century log dwelling as accessory unit with conditions

The Wildwood Board of Adjustment on Dec. 19 unanimously approved a variance allowing a historic log dwelling on 4981 Fox Creek Road to remain as an accessory (mother-in-law) unit after a new single-family house is built, subject to conditions from planning staff and the Historic Preservation Commission.

Planner Robin Keefe told the board the 21.27-acre parcel in far-west Wildwood contains a cluster of historic farmstead structures — a log dwelling, an 1890 barn, a corn crib, a smokehouse and a cemetery — and that the house is older than 75 years, which required Historic Preservation Commission review. Keefe said the commission visited the site and “voted to recommend approval of this request to the board of adjustment, in order to preserve the historic dwelling on-site.” The department recommended…