Weirton board unanimously grants variance to allow side-yard shed at 180 Kanawa Drive

The Weirton Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a variance on June 2 allowing property owner Rod Rosnick to install a detached accessory structure (shed) in the side yard of 180 Kanawa Drive.

The board granted the variance after city staff explained that the site’s utility locations and topography made meeting the Unified Development Ordinance requirement—that accessory structures be placed behind the principal structure—impractical in this case. Risha Marple, covering for Director Mark A. Miller, told the board staff had no objection and that review criteria had been addressed.

Rosnick described the property as a five-acre lot in an R-2 single- and two-family district (Map W43M, Parcel 33) at the end of a cul-de-sac off 151 Estes Avenue. He said active 12-inch water and sewer lines were located across the lot and that a 10-inch unidentified utility line also runs through the parcel; the water department stated it had no claim on the 10-inch line. Rosnick said the proposed shed is intended to house tractors and lawn equipment, not vehicles, and provided photos showing the lot’s elevation changes and screening by trees.

Minutes record that roughly 100 trees have already been cleared on the lot and that moving the shed to a behind-the-house location would require removing an additional 50–60 trees. The minutes note the construction process will include further logging and excavation. No neighbors filed objections after notice was sent, and board members indicated general support before a motion to grant the variance passed unanimously.

The board recorded the action as approved; the minutes do not list a mover or seconder. The board tentatively scheduled its next meeting for July 2026 and adjourned at 4:38 p.m.