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Jacksonville council affirms approval for 1 Lewis Street home despite neighbor's access concern
Summary
After a de novo appeal hearing, the council voted to affirm the hearings officer's approval of a single‑family dwelling at 1 Lewis Street, rejecting an appellant's request to require removal or relocation of a nonconforming shed in the street right‑of‑way and noting remedies for the shed lie in separate code‑enforcement channels.
The Jacksonville City Council on Jan. 6 affirmed a hearings‑officer approval that allows construction of a 1,956‑square‑foot single‑story house at 1 Lewis Street, rejecting an appeal from a neighbor who said a decades‑old shed in the Lewis Street right‑of‑way creates a hazardous condition.
Appellant Kathleen Compton, the property owner below 1 Lewis Street, told the council she was not opposing the house itself but wanted the shed moved. Reading from a prepared letter, Compton said the shed and a large tree force drivers to "veer around both the shed and the large tree downhill from it, bringing them unnecessarily close to my property line and creating a constricted travel path." She asked the council to require removal or relocation of the structure or at least to consider no‑parking signage.
Planning Director Ian Foster summarized the record and the hearings officer's conditions: public works and the fire department reviewed the site and found it met minimum access and safety standards, the final order requires engineered stormwater plans and an engineered driveway, and the applicant is to construct a fire apparatus turnaround and an improved driveway area before home construction proceeds. "We did include a condition of approval that requires engineered storm water and mitigation plans," Foster said.
Applicants Peter and Joanne Daney said they have a civil engineer working on the access and emphasized the shed and tree have been in place for decades. Peter Daney said the proposed 20‑foot roadway within the 60‑foot right‑of‑way would leave room for the existing features and that the applicants had worked with staff to address fire and access concerns.
Councilors questioned whether the council had authority to compel removal of the shed. Staff advised that removal or enforcement of nonconforming structures in the right‑of‑way is a separate code‑enforcement matter and that such actions require a different legal nexus than the land‑use criteria the council must apply in an appeal. After deliberation, Councilor Steve Casaleggio moved, and Councilor Andrew Hellenthal seconded, a motion to affirm the hearings officer's findings and final order of approval for file number 2025‑053. The motion passed by roll call.
The council noted the appellant may pursue a separate code‑compliance inquiry or enforcement route regarding the shed if desired; the land‑use approval stands with the conditions imposed by the hearings officer.
