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Board grants variance to reduce front setback at 114 West Lake Crest after neighborhood comments
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals recommended and the Planning Commission recorded a variance reducing the front setback at 114 West Lake Crest from 30 to 20 feet to allow construction of a single‑family house on an irregular lot; staff attached conditions including a 15‑ft easement for electric relocation and a 365‑day build‑start requirement, and one commissioner recorded opposition on the record.
The Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Commission approved a variance to reduce the front yard setback for 114 West Lake Crest from 30 feet to 20 feet to permit construction of a single‑family residence on an irregularly shaped, sloped lot.
Planning staff recommended approval after outlining site constraints: an irregular concave lot shape, a roughly 8‑foot elevation drop within the first 75 feet (about a 10% slope per staff’s Google Earth estimate), and the proximity of overhead electric lines. Staff said electric distribution would secure a 15‑foot easement along the southern property line so the streetlight service line could be relocated, and any necessary tree trimming or removal would be coordinated with the applicant’s approval. Staff further recommended a condition that construction begin within 365 days of approval or the variance would become null and void.
Public comment included Bob Chance, a neighbor who urged the board not to deviate from setback requirements and said he had previously offered to buy the lot, and Aaron Powers, an adjacent neighbor who raised concerns about on‑street parking loss and stormwater runoff; the applicant, Mark McCollum, said the proposed design fits the lot and that similar reduced setbacks exist nearby. A commissioner asked staff whether this was part of the NRP program; staff said the applicant would need to confirm that application.
The board read findings of fact concluding that the lot’s physical characteristics are unique and that strict application of the setback would cause unnecessary hardship. A motion to recommend the reduced setback and the staff conditions passed; one commissioner recorded their opposition on the record.
Next steps: staff will prepare any required easement documentation for Council dedication once signed, and electric division will assume survey cost for the easement. Building permitting may proceed once easement documents and other conditions are satisfied.
