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Board approves rear-setback variance to allow attached garage at 404 Brown Street
Summary
The Board of Adjustment approved a variance reducing the rear setback from 20 feet to 15 feet for 404 Brown Street after staff and the Historic Preservation Commission found the project compatible with the Northside neighborhood.
The Iowa City Board of Adjustment approved a variance on July 8 to reduce the rear-yard setback for 404 Brown Street from 20 feet to 15 feet, clearing the way for an attached single-car garage.
Planning staff reported that the property sits in the Northside Historic District and that the house's existing placement and historic-district design rules limit where a garage may be located. Staff concluded the project meets the city's area-variance criteria and recommended approval. "The Historic Preservation Commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the proposed garage," the planner told the board.
Applicant Ned Austin, who said he and co-applicants moved into the house last October, told the board the proposed garage would abut a shared driveway but not overlap it, and that immediate neighbors who share the driveway supported the plan. There were no public objections in the hearing record.
A board member moved to approve VAR-260004; roll-call voting (Talman yes, Russo yes, Swaggart yes, Baker yes, Vandergast yes) carried the motion and the chair declared the variance approved. The chair advised that any appeal to the decision must be filed in a court of record within 30 days after the filing of the decision with the city clerk.
What happens next: the approval allows the owner to proceed with the building review and historic-district conditions; the decision is subject to a 30-day appeal period.
