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BZA grants variances for 1070 Lincoln Court after neighbors raise drainage and scale concerns
Summary
The Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals approved two dimensional variances for a new home at 1070 Lincoln Court, finding the lot’s unusual orientation creates practical difficulty. Neighbors raised drainage and design concerns; the board tied approval to the submitted plans.
The Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve two dimensional variances for 1070 Lincoln Court (appeal 2602), allowing a reduced rear-yard setback and a reduced combined front-and-rear setback as shown in the plans submitted to the board.
City presenter Andrew Erickson described the ordinance references and the specific requests: a rear-yard setback of roughly 16.71 feet (a requested variance of about 13.29 feet) and a combined front‑and‑rear setback of about 41 feet (a requested variance of about 14 feet). Erickson told the board the property is an atypically oriented R‑3 lot and that following strict ordinance measurements would leave a buildable envelope of about 13 feet.
Appellant James Sigliano, representing owners Salvatore and Stella Sigliano, said the design keeps the new home largely within the footprint of the existing structure, relocates a detached garage to an attached configuration, and uses mass‑reducing elements such as a shed roof and a single‑story garage to limit visual impact. “We tried to stay within the footprint of the existing home,” Sigliano said.
Several neighbors testified in opposition, citing concerns about drainage, the scale of nearby new construction and the effect on light and views. Linda Wells, who lives on Lincoln Court, said she measured a larger distance from her property and questioned the dimensions in the application; other residents described a recently built house on the street they said had already changed neighborhood character.
Board members focused on whether the lot’s configuration and the location of utility lines created a practical difficulty that would prevent reasonable use of the lot under a strict reading of the ordinance. One member said the new plan moves the house away from overhead power lines and provides a similar combined footprint to the existing house and garage. Another member noted the proposed home would be well under the city’s maximum height limit and within lot coverage requirements.
A motion to approve the variances, tied explicitly to the plans submitted, passed with a majority of the board. Chair Mordoroff reminded the applicant that any change to the approved plans that affects the approved setbacks or coverage will require a return to the BZA for further review.
What happens next: The variances are approved as tied to the submitted drawings; any substantial redesign or attempt to expand the house beyond the approved plan will require the owners to seek additional relief from the board.
