Irving board hears request to allow 1.5-foot front-yard setback encroachment at 1708 Glen Valley Drive

The City of Irving Board of Adjustments held a public hearing on a requested variance to the Unified Development Code that would allow a 1.5-foot encroachment into the 30-foot front-yard setback at 1708 Glen Valley Drive.

Gina Costanza Grant, the city's senior planner, told the board the encroachment was discovered during a small expansion to the home's garage and that the applicant sought a variance to avoid redesigning or reconstructing the proposed work. Grant said staff mailed 32 notices and highlighted letters in favor; the transcript records staff saying there were letters "in favor," with counts referenced in the record (the planner stated 29 from Glen Valley and 16 from other streets).

Supporters told the board the encroachment appears to predate the applicant's current work. George Hearn, who identified himself as a former custom home builder in Irving, said the house is "over the building line" and "tilted on the lot," and that a more detailed survey revealed the existing condition. Contractor Mark Deronci told the board the addition would not extend beyond the existing plane of the home and said, "We're not coming out any further than the existing home. We're just coming flush with the other end of the house." Neighbor Diane Cartwright, who said she lives at 1706 Glenbrook Drive and is a local realtor, asked the board to approve the variance and said the homeowner had invested "more than $200,000 to improve the property."

During commissioner questions, staff and the survey submitted for the hearing were cited as the basis for the 1.5-foot figure. One staff speaker summarized the survey measurement as 28.5 feet from the property line, which provides the numerical basis for granting a 1.5-foot variance from the 30-foot requirement. Commissioners also discussed that the new garage faces would be built to align with the existing façade.

A commissioner moved to approve the variance "as per the staff report," another commissioner seconded, and the chair called for ayes. No opposition was recorded on the hearing transcript; the chair then concluded the hearing. The transcript does not contain a formal roll-call tally for the variance vote.

The board also approved the prior meeting minutes earlier in the session; that motion was recorded in the transcript as having passed unanimously.