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Board denies variance for teardown/rebuild that would encroach on rear setback
Summary
Architect Andy Homley said a survey placed the front building line at 50.2 feet, which pushed his design into the rear setback; the board concluded legal hardship and uniqueness were not met and denied the requested 2.3‑ft variance.
The Leawood Board of Zoning Appeals denied a variance request that would have allowed a new home to encroach roughly 2.2–2.3 feet into the rear yard at the Winonga Road address under consideration. Andy Homley of Homley Design Build told the board a late survey showing adjacent homes’ building lines forced his design and that the proposed house would actually sit farther from a neighbor than the existing structure.
"So when asking for this variance, we're actually increasing the distance from the neighbor to our house," Homley said, explaining that the existing house sits closer to the property line and the proposed design moves it farther away overall. Board members debated whether the application demonstrated the statutory criteria of uniqueness and hardship; several members said the applicant had alternatives and that the inconvenience of redesign is insufficient to meet the legal hardship standard. A motion to deny the variance under LDO §16‑2‑5.3(D) carried.
