Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Accessory Structure Setback topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves reduced setbacks for new garage at 118 May Court to preserve backyard and allow drainage solution
Summary
A setback variance allowing a 21-foot-tall replacement garage to be set four feet from the side yard and three feet from the rear — rather than the six feet the code requires at that height — was approved; the applicant said the placement preserves usable backyard space and allows a dry well to address a long-standing flooding problem.
On April 28 the Chagrin Falls Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance to permit a new detached garage at 118 May Court to stand 21 feet tall with reduced side and rear setbacks.
The code requires a three-foot setback for detached accessory structures up to 18 feet tall, plus one additional foot of setback for each foot of height above 18. Because the proposed garage would be 21 feet tall, the code requires a six-foot setback from the side and rear; the applicants requested permission to set the garage four feet from the side and three feet from the rear, a three-foot variance.
Applicant Erik Kaminski told the Board the replacement two-car garage (about 23 feet wide and 693 square feet) would sit further from the property line than the existing single-car garage and that placing it at the full six-foot setbacks would eliminate the family's usable backyard on an already small May Court lot. Kaminski also said the proposed placement would allow a dry well to manage stormwater and address a long-standing flooding problem on the property.
Board member Jim Holdren moved to grant the variance, finding the replacement structure would be set farther from the property line than the current garage and that the character of the neighborhood would not be altered. The motion passed unanimously; the applicant was notified a 15-day appeal period will follow before written approval is issued.
