City of Lawrence
Board of Zoning Appeals
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November 4, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Carpenter, Lowe, Christie, von Tersch, Mahoney |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Guntert, Miller, Parker |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Neil Gaskin |
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS
Meeting Minutes of November 4, 2010 –6:30 p.m.
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Members present: Carpenter, Mahoney, Lowe, Christie, von Tersch
Members excused: Kimball
Staff present: Guntert, Miller, Parker
ITEM NO. 1 ELECTION OF A CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR FOR 2010-2011
Conduct elections for a Chair and Vice-Chair to serve during the 2010-2011 term.
Motioned by von Tersch, seconded by Carpenter, to elect Lowe as Chair of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Motion carried unanimously, 5-0
Motioned by von Tersch, seconded by Christie, to elect Carpenter as Vice-Chair of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Motion carried unanimously, 5-0
ITEM NO. 2 COMMUNICATIONS
No communications to come before the Board.
No agenda items deferred.
No disclosure of ex parte contacts or abstentions from the discussion and vote of agenda items under consideration.
ITEM NO. 3 MINUTES
Motioned by Mahoney, seconded by von Tersch, to approve the September 2, 2010 Board of Zoning Appeals minutes.
Motion carried, 4-0-1 Christie abstained
BEGIN PUBLIC HEARING:
ITEM NO. 4 4620 HARVARD ROAD [DRG]
B-9-11-10: A request for a variance as provided in Section 20-1309 of the Land Development Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2009 edition. The request is for a variance to reduce the 30 feet rear yard building setback required in Section 20-601(a) of the City Code to a minimum of 23 feet. The variance is requested for the replacement of an existing deck and a new screened porch addition. The property is addressed as 4620 Harvard Road. Submitted by Neil A. Gaskin, Natural Breeze Remodeling, for Philip N. and Patricia M. Anderson, the property owners of record. The legal description for the property in the appeal and the case file for the public hearing item are available in the Planning Office for review during regular office hours, 8-5 Monday - Friday.
STAFF PRESENTATION
Mr. Guntert presented the item.
Christie asked Mr. Guntert if the current deck was within the 30 feet setback.
Mr. Guntert stated the current deck was shallow and was at the 30 feet setback only at the northwest corner of the deck.
APPLICANT PRESENTATION
Neil Gaskin said the deck would encroach 7 feet into the rear yard setback.
von Tersch asked Mr. Gaskin if the surrounding neighbors’ garages were in front of their homes.
Mr. Gaskin stated most of the neighbors’ garages were located in front of the living area in those homes.
Carpenter asked Mr. Gaskin how much farther the encroachment would be than the existing deck.
Mr. Gaskin said the new addition would project approximately 6 feet further than the existing deck.
Christie asked Mr. Gaskin if there would only be a six feet change because the application indicated a 7 feet variance from the required setback.
Mr. Gaskin stated they did not have the benefit of a survey to know where the improvements were located when they filed the variance application with the Planning Office.
Mr. Guntert stated the minimum setback would be 24 feet at the closest point to the rear property line. Not all of the addition encroached into the setback. He said there was approximately 130 square feet of the porch and deck addition that would be in the required rear yard setback.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No one from the public spoke to this item.
PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED
Motioned by Carpenter, seconded by Mahoney, to close the public hearing.
Motion carried unanimously, 5-0
BOARD DISCUSSION
von Tersch stated the Board of Zoning Appeals conditions were clear except for the uniqueness.
Lowe said the applicant’s back yard was large.
Christie asked if the yard backed up to a wooded area.
Lowe said the yard was a wooded area and the neighbor’s yard in the rear was heavily wooded and deep. The neighbor’s house could not be seen because of all the trees.
von Tersch said if the variance was granted it would be forever. The property ownership would not be forever and a new owner might not want to keep all of the trees.
Lowe said there would not be homes built in the expansive open space in the rear.
ACTION TAKEN
Motioned by Mahoney, seconded by Carpenter, to approve the rear yard variance request for the elevated deck and screen porch addition shown on the plans submitted with the variance application based upon the findings outlined by staff in the staff report that concluded the request meets the conditions needed to support the approval of the variance.
Motion approved unanimously, 5-0
ITEM NO. 5 MISCELLANEOUS
a) Mr. Guntert stated there would be Board of Zoning Appeals training after all seven spots of the Board were filled.
Lowe asked Mr. Guntert if there would be a December 2010 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
Mr. Guntert stated there could possibly be an application submitted within a few days.
ACTION TAKEN
Motioned by Christie, seconded by von Tersch, to adjourn the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
Motion carried unanimously, 5-0
ADJOURN – 6:55 p.m.
Official minutes are on file in the Planning Department office.