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Board tables multi-variance proposal for 1900 Will Avenue NW, asks for revised plans
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals tabled a request for five dimensional variances at 1900 Will Avenue NW to allow revised site plans and further review, citing insufficient traffic/turning evidence, concerns about alley access, residential buffers and the need to minimize variance scope.
The Grand Rapids City Board of Zoning Appeals on an unspecified date tabled a multi-variance request for 1900 Will Avenue Northwest, asking the applicant to work with city planning and return with revised plans or a narrower request.
Staff presented five dimensional variances sought to facilitate construction of a contractor’s building: shifting the building line along Will Avenue (proposed 61 feet from curb rather than the required 23 feet), shifting the line along Edwin Street, permitting access other than from the alley, allowing parking in a defined front yard and permitting parking to exceed 50% of lot width.
Owner Brian DeSmit told the board the alley that ordinance prioritizes for access is unimproved — "busted concrete and gravel"— and argued entering from Will or Edwin makes more practical sense for trucks and staging. He said the alley requirement would force the project into a non-uniform and impractical configuration and described nearby buildings as having similar layouts.
Multiple board members said they were not comfortable approving five variances on the plans presented. Members asked for clearer plans, traffic-turning evidence and measurements showing truck maneuverability and recommended the applicant work with planning to minimize variance requests. Board Member 6 proposed tabling the application and directed the applicant to work with planning for revised plans; the board amended the motion to 'table opened' (no date certain) to allow the applicant flexibility to return with revised site plans or file a new, narrower application. The motion carried.
Staff noted the site sits in a manufacturing-and-logistics future land-use category and that a 25-foot landscape buffer and setback protects a residential property to the north; staff also said parking minimums for a contractor’s yard and this building size would be 12 spaces under the ordinance, though reductions may be available.
The board asked the applicant to consider reduced variance requests (for example, alley-access relief only), to provide truck-turning diagrams or traffic analysis, and to coordinate proposed curb cuts and site layout with planning and traffic safety before returning to the board.
