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Planning board grants variance allowing 450‑sq‑ft studio for homeowners and artists with conditions
Summary
The Planning Board granted a variance at 127 Jonestown Road to place a single‑story, approximately 450‑square‑foot workshop/studio in the front yard area because topography and sewer easements limit other buildable locations; approval was conditioned on lot recombination, removal/nonreplacement of an existing metal shed and additional evergreen buffering.
The Woodfin Planning Board of Adjustment approved May 5 a variance permitting a single‑story accessory workshop/studio of about 450 square feet at 127 Jonestown Road, finding topography and an MSD sewer easement across the rear of the lots create a practical hardship that limits buildable area.
Applicants Blaine Steiner and Samuel Spece told the board they are practicing artists who need an enclosed workspace for light fabrication and tool storage; they said they do not plan to receive customers in the building. “We’re practicing artists,” the applicants said, describing the structure as a metal building on a concrete slab with only electrical service planned.
Staff described site constraints: terraces, a restrictive sewer easement and intervening properties between the lot and Jonestown Road. Staff recommended approval of placement in the front yard while initially advising against a full front‑setback reduction; after discussion staff recommended conditions that the board adopted: recombination of the two parcels before issuance of a zoning permit; limit the new building to a single story and approximately 450 sq ft; removal of the existing small metal structure on the front property line and prohibition on replacing it in the same nonconforming location; and installation of a supplemental, offset second row of evergreen shrubs (about 6 feet on center) to fill gaps between the new building and a neighboring triplex.
Board members found the hardship justified by the property’s configuration and voted to grant the variances with the conditions described. Staff noted that an official order will be signed after minutes are approved and that a 30‑day appeal period will follow issuance of that order.
