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BZA approves height variances at 504 Willets but denies terrace that would exceed lot coverage
Summary
The Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals approved three height‑related variances for a new home at 504 Willets (pitch, flat roof and eave heights) tied to submitted plans, but denied a requested lot‑coverage variance for a raised terrace after neighbors and counsel raised privacy, sunlight and runoff concerns.
The Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals delivered a split decision on appeal 2607 for 504 Willets, approving three height‑related variances while denying a lot‑coverage variance for a raised rear terrace.
Applicant's presenter (identified in the record as Mike Moria) and designer Paul Sammartino said the lot’s steep drop creates a walkout condition that forces measurements from the lowest grade; that measurement produced the requested variances. The variance requests were: pitched roof height to 34.69 feet (+6.69 ft), flat‑roof height to 32.1 feet (+8.1 ft), eave height to 28.59 feet (+4.59 ft), and lot coverage 35.1% (2,774.65 sq ft) — an overage of 5.1% or about 403.15 sq ft driven by a raised terrace.
Neighbors and counsel strongly opposed the full package. Attorney Scott Galloway, representing nearby residents, said the combination of variances would create an overbearing structure that reduces privacy and sunlight and increases runoff and erosion risk in the Rouge River ravine below. Longtime residents including Celeste Turpel and others said the size and height would be out of scale with the street’s historic character and would loom over lower properties.
Board members split on the question of hardship. Several members said the lot’s natural slope is a legitimate constraint that could justify height relief tied to the exact engineering and plans submitted; others said the requested lot‑coverage variance for the terrace was a self‑created feature of new construction and could be avoided by redesigning the home or reducing terrace size.
The board approved variances a–c (roof/eave heights) tied to the submitted plans and explicitly warned that any subsequent attempt to add a terrace that increases lot coverage beyond the approved plan will require the applicant to return to the BZA. The board denied variance d (lot coverage) for the terrace.
What happens next: The approvals for heights are tied to the plans the board reviewed; the applicant may proceed with permitting based on those drawings. If the owner later seeks to incorporate a terrace or otherwise reconfigure the footprint in a way that creates the previous lot‑coverage overage, the owner must seek new variances and provide notice to neighbors.
