Board of Building Appeals approves setback variance for 104 Mitchell Avenue

The Board of Building Appeals approved a variance on a request from Olan Meford to reduce the side-yard setback at 104 Mitchell Avenue from 10 feet to 8 feet so an existing carport can be expanded into a two-car garage and attached workshop.

Robert Healey, acting chairperson of the Board of Building Appeals, opened the public hearing and identified the applicant as Olan Meford. Jacob Peodyy, the city council zoning administrator, told the board the application requests a two-foot variance under section 19-305A 3B.2.f and that staff had not received objections; Peodyy said the office had received one letter of support from the nearest neighbor.

Meford described the project as an expansion of the existing carport "to basically allow for a two-car garage and the addition of a workshop space," saying the work would move the structure slightly closer to the property line but would largely reuse the existing roof and footprint. He told members that rotating the structure would require demolishing the current carport and that access to the added space would remain from his property.

Board members asked technical questions about the exact corner affected, whether the structure could be rotated instead of expanded, and whether a door opening accessed another property; Meford clarified that the new opening would access his lot and that the change primarily affects a small corner of the building.

After brief discussion, a board member moved to approve the variance; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor, with the chair calling for those in favor and recording four votes for approval. The board then moved to accept the minutes from its June meeting; that motion also passed.

The variance was approved and the meeting adjourned. No formal conditions, permit numbers or implementation dates were noted in the record.