Salina board approves landscape-buffer waiver for CHDO infill cottages, 4–1

The Salina Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4–1 on Feb. 19 to approve a landscape‑buffer variance that will let the Community Housing Development Corporation of Central Kansas (CHDO) build a third one‑bedroom cottage on a zoning lot at the northwest corner of Harsh and 4th Street without installing the full 10‑foot planted buffer required for multifamily properties.

Staff told the board the lot is a little over 15,600 square feet and currently contains two dwellings (1001 North 4th Street, built 1994; 235 East Harsh, built 1997) and that R2 zoning normally limits lots to two dwelling units. The CHDO seeks to place three detached one‑bedroom cottages on the lot, which by code makes the site “multifamily” and would normally trigger a 10‑foot buffer with a six‑foot screening fence, trees and shrubs.

In its recommendation and oral presentation, staff outlined the five variance criteria the board must consider and noted several factors supporting a waiver: the property’s cottage‑style design, an existing 10‑foot city‑owned alley to the west that staff calculated functions as a roughly 25‑foot effective separation, and an existing six‑foot fence on the north property line. Staff also noted a 2016 landscape waiver case for a different property but distinguished that prior decision.

Gary Hobby, representing CHDO, described the organization’s local housing work and said the group has completed multiple renovation projects and is seeking to provide an additional one‑bedroom rental for low‑ and moderate‑income households. Hobby told the board that full compliance with the landscape requirement would be a financial burden. "We anticipated the cost of putting in 100% of the landscape requirements for this project to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $17,500 to $20,000," Hobby said. He said fence pricing alone was quoted at roughly $7,500 to $9,500.

Hobby said CHDO would accept installing three street trees shown on its plat but asked to waive the 10‑foot perimeter buffer and its planting obligations. Staff noted the City Commission recently approved a one‑year pilot infill housing support program with a maximum of $5,000 per project, but staff and the applicant agreed that amount would not cover the applicant’s full stated landscaping estimate.

Board members who voted in favor said the site’s alley, existing fence, and cottage‑style pattern meant the project would fit the neighborhood’s visual character and that narrow, carefully worded findings could limit this waiver to the site’s specific circumstances. One member said the motion includes the condition "that the applicant must install and maintain the three front yard trees as proposed." An opposing member warned that a full waiver could set a precedent and argued landscaping is a standard development expense.

The board approved the variance subject to conditions that include planting the three front‑yard trees and the staff‑recommended findings supporting approval. No members of the public spoke in opposition during the meeting’s public‑comment opportunity.

The board moved on to the next agenda item after the vote; staff and the applicant will implement the stated planting condition and any required site plan updates following the board’s findings.