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Board of Adjustment approves variances for accessory garage at 212 Deer Creek Lane
Summary
The Sunnyvale Board of Adjustment voted to allow a detached 800-square-foot metal garage at 212 Deer Creek Lane to be built 48 feet from the street and to have 14-foot walls (17-foot peak) so a 13-foot-2-inch RV fits; the board split the votes, approving the setback and then addressing height separately.
The Sunnyvale Board of Adjustment voted to allow a detached accessory garage at 212 Deer Creek Lane to be built 48 feet from the street and to have 14-foot walls with an approximately 17-foot peak, after hearing staff, the applicant and neighborhood support.
Staff told the board the property is in the Deer Creek Planned Development and that the Unified Development Ordinance (Section 3.04.04(a)) sets a front-yard setback requirement of 50 feet and a maximum accessory building wall height of 8 feet for lots between 0.5 and 1 acre. Staff’s materials said the lot is 0.72 acres, the proposed detached garage would sit at 48 feet (a 2-foot deficiency) and the applicant’s paperwork listed the RV height as 13 feet 2 inches. The planner also read into the record four letters of support and three additional letters not in the packet (addresses listed in the record included 215, 213 and 217 Blanco Lane).
Chris Fowler, the applicant and homeowner at 212 Deer Creek Lane, told the board the building will match the house colors, the concrete pad where the building would sit has been in place about 20 years and he is willing to set the structure back an additional two feet if the town requests it. "It's been there about 20 years," Fowler said, describing long-term RV parking at the site and adding he had built the proposed structure only as large as necessary to shelter the vehicle.
Members expressed divided views about the height request. Several members said the two-foot reduced setback was acceptable given neighborhood support and limited visibility, but they questioned whether allowing a near-doubling of wall height (from the UDO's 8-foot limit to 14 feet) was consistent with the town's zoning intent. One board member asked whether the action would effectively authorize RV shelters in similar residential areas; the chair noted that a variance decision does not change the UDO or formally alter zoning requirements.
Procedurally, the board separated the two issues and voted first on the setback. The motion to approve the reduced setback carried unanimously. Earlier segments of the record also include a motion recorded in the transcript approving a 14-foot variance; the motion language on the record shows a motion on the floor, a second and a unanimous carry. The board’s recorded actions (motion text and vote tallies) are included in the meeting record.
The decision allows the applicant to construct the metal accessory building as presented; the record notes conditions about matching finishes to the house and that the building sits on an existing concrete pad. The board discussed but did not adopt any ordinance-level change; members emphasized that a variance is specific to this application and does not itself rewrite the town's UDO.
