Board grants variance to allow deck to encroach into side yard at 151 Moody Road

The Findlay Township Zoning Hearing Board granted a variance May 20 allowing a deck at 151 Moody Road to encroach three feet into the eight-foot minimum side-yard setback.

Assistant Township Manager and Planning Administrator Brandon J. Stanick told the board the applicant seeks relief from Section 117.317.7.1 of the Findlay Township Zoning Ordinance; legal notices, neighbor letters and a yard sign were posted and the site plan otherwise complied. Applicants Gurdev and Dalwinder Biring said they sought a side walkway and stairs to access the deck without passing through the house and because the backyard slopes sharply, which they said would make a rear staircase impractical. They submitted a letter from a neighbor stating no objection.

Neighbor Brian Porter told the board he believed the applicant had not met the legal hardship standard required for a variance and that the lot was not too small to meet the ordinance. Two other neighbors—John Buss and Shailesh and Sangeeta Bokil—said they had no objection, the Bokils adding the change should not inconvenience the adjoining neighbor.

After discussion, Member Patrick Cunningham moved to grant the variance; Vice‑Chair Celeste Rosen seconded. The motion passed on a 2‑1 voice vote: Rosen and Cunningham voted yes, Chair Amy Kovac voted no.

The board entered the application, survey map and staff review letter into the record as exhibits. No further conditions were recorded in the hearing; the variance allows the applicant to proceed with the deck construction subject to any applicable permits and building-code requirements.