Board of Adjustment grants setback variances for Comstock lake house at 20801 Blue Water Drive

Vice Chairman Alex Oponski presided over the Dickinson County Board of Adjustment meeting on April 27, where the board approved a variance request for the John & Rita Comstock Trust to alter the home at 20801 Blue Water Drive in Spirit Lake.

Applicant John Comstock told the board his family has grown and that the project will add a second floor and a second-floor deck above an existing lower porch to provide more living space and improve use of the lakefront property. Engineer Stacy Tegtmeier of Beck's Engineering reviewed site measurements and a site plan; Planning & Zoning Administrator Megan Kardell confirmed that an open, unroofed deck may project up to five feet into a required yard under the county’s interpretation presented at the meeting.

Correspondence from nearby property owners — Diane and Chuck Dunn, Tom and Patricia Kunzman, and Dennis and Marilyn Ladwig — was entered into the record; there were no public comments during the hearing. Board member Kirby Berhow moved to approve variances to allow a front-yard setback of 11 feet where 25 feet is required (a 14-foot variance), a 7-foot side yard where 8 feet is required (a 1-foot variance), and a 21-foot rear yard where 25 feet is required (a 4-foot variance). Susan Clark seconded the motion, which passed 4-0 (Clark, Oponski, Westerman, Berhow).

The board did not impose additional conditions beyond those discussed at the hearing. The approval allows the Comstocks to proceed with the changes described in their application and the site plan reviewed by staff. The board moved next to a separate variance request for a different property.