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Birmingham zoning board grants variances for 1070 Lincoln Court after neighbors raise drainage and scale concerns
Summary
The Birmingham Board of Zoning Appeals approved two dimensional variances allowing a new home at 1070 Lincoln Court to sit closer to the rear lot line and to have a reduced combined front-and-rear setback, after the applicant argued lot orientation made a code-compliant home impractical and neighbors warned about drainage and neighborhood scale.
The Birmingham Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday approved two variances that will allow a new house at 1070 Lincoln Court to be built closer to the rear lot line than the zoning ordinance normally permits.
Appellant representative Andrew Erickson and James Sigliano, who said he was speaking for his parents the property owners, told the board the lot’s unusual orientation creates a practical difficulty with the city’s R-3 setback rules. "If we were to follow the requirements of the R-3 zoning ... we would only be able to consider a home that was 13 feet deep," Erickson said, arguing the proposed design replicates much of the existing footprint and avoids placing new construction under utility lines.
Neighbors, however, urged the board to deny the request or scale it back. Linda Wells, who said she lives next door at 1095 Lincoln Court, described the nearby rebuilt house as a “monstrosity” and said residents fear losing light, privacy and seeing increased drainage problems from larger new construction. Multiple neighbors also asked whether granting the variances would merely allow future owners to expand without returning to the board.
Board members discussed lot coverage, drainage safeguards and whether the request represented a self-created hardship. One board member who moved to approve cited the lot’s narrow depth and the fact the existing home already sits nonconforming as reasons to grant relief. "Literal enforcement, I believe, would unreasonably prevent the property owner from using the property for its permitted purpose," the mover said during deliberations.
The motion to approve was seconded and carried in roll-call voting. The board announced the variance was approved and told the applicant the approval would be tied to the plans submitted that evening.
The decision allows the owner to pursue construction as shown to the board; the city’s engineering review and permitting process will still apply to grading and drainage, officials said. The meeting record shows the board stressed drainage will be addressed at the engineering and building permit stage.
What’s next: The applicant may proceed with permitting tied to the approved plans. Neighbors were told they can raise any separate enforcement or policy concerns with the City Commission, which sets zoning rules.
