Board approves six variances for 1104 Canal Street commercial project after debate over setback precedent

The Planning & Zoning Board approved multiple variances on Aug. 5 that will allow a new 5,660-square-foot commercial building at the southwest corner of Canal Street and Ingham Road, after a lengthy staff presentation, applicant testimony and public comment about safety and drainage.

Staff described the lot as unusually shaped and reduced by past DOT roadway acquisition, which constrains buildable area and prompted six variances: one building-corner encroachment into the 20-foot Canal Street setback (the corner comes within 5.2 feet) and five variances reducing landscape-buffer widths around parking areas. Staff recommended approval only if the applicant increased the size and maturity of required landscaping to offset the shortened buffers.

Engineer David Evans and developer David Pace explained the market and site constraints; the plan proposes four tenant bays (roughly 1,000–1,200 sq ft each), underground stormwater exfiltration beneath parking to handle on-site drainage, and a landscape approach intended to preserve existing trees and supplement with larger plantings. Evans said the encroachment represented about 218 square feet on a long frontage and could be mitigated visually with a thicker landscape strip.

Nearby resident Beverly Palmer told the board she lives behind the parcel and expressed concern about stormwater ponding and visibility at the Ingham/Canal approach. Property owner Scott Wheeler asked about the neighboring halfway house. The applicant agreed to additional trees and screening where the building protrudes and to underground retention for stormwater.

Board members split the votes: variances 2–6 (buffer and parking adjustments) were bundled and approved unanimously with conditions requiring maintained vegetation and thicker screening. The principal building encroachment (variance 1) prompted debate about precedent and sightlines; one member warned approving it would "set a very bad precedent to allow three-quarters of the required setback to be visually blocked." After discussion and the applicant’s agreement to added screening, variance 1 passed on a 4–2 vote.

Approvals included explicit conditions to increase planting sizes (larger-caliper trees and taller shrubs) and to preserve or augment the existing tree line along Ingham Road to screen the projecting corner. The applicant indicated willingness to implement the enhanced buffer and to place stormwater retention beneath the parking area.