Hilliard BZA approves reduced side-yard and front-yard variances for 5134 Hamilton Road after compromise

HILLIARD — The Hilliard Board of Zoning Appeals on [November 2025 meeting] approved variances for 5134 Hamilton Road that legalize several existing nonconforming site conditions and allow construction of an attached garage with a 2-foot-10-inch side-yard setback and a reduced front yard of 30 feet.

City staff told the board the application includes two related requests: variances to bring the existing site into conformance (lot-area, lot-width, west side-yard setback and minimum floor area) and variances to permit a new attached garage. Staff recommended approving the conformance variances but recommended denying the requested 0.83-foot (10-inch) side-yard setback for the new garage on the grounds that it “could cause adjoining property owners to suffer substantial detriment,” and noted the property could be usefully used without that particular variance.

The board voted 6–0 to approve the variances to bring the site into compliance. A separate motion to permit the originally requested 0.83-foot side-yard setback and a front-yard reduction initially ended in a 3–3…