Green Bay board approves two-driveway variance at 804 9th Street with recorded access agreement

The Green Bay Zoning and Planning Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance allowing two driveway entrances on a single-family parcel at 804 9th Street, contingent on a recorded shared-access/easement agreement between 802 and 804. The motion passed by voice vote after staff presentation and testimony from the applicant.

City staff explained the request as a variance from "44-1746 sub 1," the provision limiting the number of driveways for single-family lots, and described the site and proposed work. Staff said the plan calls for a 24-by-24-foot garage at 804 with a second existing parking area serving 802. The proposal would create two alley-facing openings — one approximately 24 feet wide and another roughly 12 feet — and staff noted that alley openings can be permitted up to 30 feet under the city's alley rules.

Applicant Julie Christiansen, identified in the hearing as the petitioner, said she intends to add an affordable house at 804 while renovating 802 and building a two-stall garage at 802. Christiansen told the board she preferred having driveways at the rear off the alley for safety and aesthetics, saying a driveway placed adjacent to a new garage could create a blind spot for children and called the alternative "an accident waiting to happen."

Board members deliberated on whether the site presents an "exceptional or extraordinary unusual circumstance" that would justify a variance. Members noted the parcel is effectively landlocked and that an existing driveway already crosses the 804 property to serve 802. Several members said those facts supported granting relief without violating the spirit of the regulations.

Members also discussed conditions to protect future owners. Staff advised the board it could require a recorded shared-access or easement agreement approved by Green Bay and subsequently recorded with the county; the city would not prescribe the private terms, only that an agreement be recorded to protect future access rights. A board member moved to approve the variance contingent on a recorded shared-access/easement agreement between the two parcels; another member seconded the motion. The board approved the motion by voice vote.

The action authorizes two alley-facing driveways for the single-family parcel at 804 9th Street, subject to the condition that a shared access/easement agreement be recorded and approved by the city and recorded with the county. The board noted alternatives discussed during the hearing, including relocating or reducing the garage to allow a single driveway approach. The board adjourned and scheduled its next meeting for Monday, March 16.

(Reporting based solely on the hearing record; the transcript contains several minor transcription irregularities and the precise text of the motion as spoken on the record was partially garbled in the transcript. The board's intent and the recorded condition are clear from the hearing minutes and staff guidance.)