Zoning board approves variance to add shower that may trigger ADU at 7303 Hubard Avenue

The Middleton Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance to allow a homeowner to add a shower in a detached garage, a change that would create a full bath and meet the city's definition of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).

Staff introduced the application for 7303 Hubard Avenue, saying the detached garage sits about 2 feet from the side lot line where the zoning code requires a 5-foot setback. Daffany, who read the agenda and summarized staff findings, said the half bath already exists and the proposed work would not alter the building's exterior.

Eric Gregerson, the applicant, told the board he finished a room above his garage and added a half bath last year; he said his plan is to add a shower to make visiting family more comfortable and that he did not intend to rent the space immediately. "It's kind of convenient to not have to go down and up to shower," Gregerson said.

Board members and staff discussed how the city's change to allow ADUs in single-family zones affects a structure that already sits inside the setback; members noted that adding a full bath (or an operable kitchen) typically brings a unit within the ADU standard whether or not it is immediately occupied or rented. One committee member said the original hardship that justified the 2020 variance (lot constraints and a tree) still applies.

After brief deliberation a member moved to approve the request "as presented" and another member seconded. The chair called the question and the board approved the variance; the transcript records the motion passing but the numeric tally in the record is unclear.

The board then closed deliberations on the item and moved on to the next agenda item.