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Waupaca County board grants variance to keep altered roof, citing emergency access
Summary
The Waupaca County Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance allowing a roof pitch change and roof extension over a deck at N4629 Ferry Street to reduce snow and ice accumulation and preserve access to an exterior electrical panel; staff had recommended denial. Approval carries a 60-day permit deadline and a two-year completion window.
The Waupaca County Board of Adjustment on March 31 unanimously granted a variance to Jeremy J. & Tina J. Kehl to keep a modified roof pitch and an extension over a deck that encroaches into the highway setback at N4629 Ferry Street, citing safety and access to an exterior electrical panel.
The board’s motion, approved by Chair P. Craig, Vice-Chair D. Johnson, P. Leder, A. Richardson and G. Marx, requires the applicants to obtain a Land Use Permit within 60 days and allows two years—the duration of the permit—to complete the work.
Tina J. Kehl, the property occupant, testified she adjusted the roof “so snow load can move off roof” because accumulated snow and ice made the deck hazardous and impaired access to a small room off the deck that contains the electrical panel. She said the change was made to “keep the deck accessible to [the] electrical panel in emergencies.”
Planning and Zoning staff, represented by Candace Bauer, recommended denial. Bauer’s report said the applicant did not satisfy the legal criteria for a variance: relocating the electrical panel or creating a separate access point could be alternatives and therefore the hardship was not demonstrated; the property and dwelling placement are not unique in the Northport area; and extending structures into the highway setback conflicts with the ordinance’s purpose to promote street and highway safety.
Board members found that relocating the electrical panel would be ‘‘unnecessarily burdensome’’ and that the house’s original construction and later road changes made the structure more nonconforming. On the public-interest test the Board concluded the work would not harm travel vision or the public interest given current development patterns along Ferry Street.
After closing testimony, the Board voted unanimously to grant the variance with the permit and completion conditions. The hearing record notes the Board conducted an on-site inspection of the property earlier the same day.
