Del City Board of Adjustment approves garage-to-suite variance for 3709 Firethorn

The Del City Board of Adjustment approved a building code variance on June 8 allowing the conversion of a two-car garage at 3709 Firethorn into a mother‑in‑law primary suite.

City staff presented the application and said, "The applicant, Abilene Rodriguez, is requesting to convert her garage at 3709 Firethorn into a mother-in-law primary suite," and recommended approval of variance BABCV218-26, noting a storage structure at the rear of the property and driveway parking capacity in front of the house.

The board opened a public hearing on the request; no members of the public spoke. After the hearing was closed, the chair expressed an initial concern about losing garage space but said that driving the neighborhood and observing several similar conversions changed his view. A board member who spoke favorably about the application said, "I feel like they definitely had good architectural files for it for the construction. I like it when I see those."

The chair moved to approve the variance, a board member seconded the motion, and the board approved the variance by voice vote.

The variance will allow additional livable space on the property intended to serve as a primary "mother-in-law" suite; staff characterized the change as providing more flexible housing options for larger households. The application packet included illustrative photographs of the property and staff advised the board that the storage building on the lot would help offset lost storage from the garage conversion.

The board also approved the consent docket earlier in the meeting and adjourned at 6:06 p.m.