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Home My WebLink About1985-05-06 Minutes0 MINUTES OF A BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING A meeting of the Fayetteville Board of Adjustment was held Monday, May 69 1985 at 3:45 p.m. in Room 111 of the City Administration Building, 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, AR. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chester House, Don Mills, Dennis Becker, Jerry Allred and Gerald Boyd MEMBERS ABSENT: Larry Tompkins and Robert Waldren The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Adjustment was called to order by Chairman House and the minutes of the meeting of April 15 were considered and approved unanimously upon a motion by Mills and a second by Becker. APPEAL 85-11 WADE BISHOP REQUEST VARIANCE FOR SIDS SETBACK The first item on the agenda was consideration of Appeal 85-11 submitted by Wade Bishop for property located at 1408 Eton. Bishop requests a side setback variance of 7 ft. 1 in.; required is 8 ft. • Bishop stated that the carpenter he hired for this project was accustomed to Springdale building setbacks and, although the correct setback figures were given to the carpenter by Bishop, the house was built 9 ft. from the block line, or 7 ft. 1 in. to the overhang from the property line. Bishop said that the house and subsequently the entire subdivision would lose a great deal of appeal if the overhang must be removed. He also stated that this is the first formal violation that has been filed against him in fifteen years. Becker said he has seen the house and agreed with Bishop regarding the potential damage to the house and neighborhood. He said that, under the circumstances, he would be in favor of the variance. Boyd expressed his distress at finding where to draw the line in dealing with professional people regarding these types of errors. Allred said that he has also seen the house and felt that anyone could make a mistake. He said he would be in favor of a variance. Mills said she was not in favor of granting a variance because she felt that builders must begin to realize that this Board will enforce the established building codes and that they need to attend to details such as these. • 39 • 2 Board of Adjustment May 6, 1985 Page 2 Boyd inquired whether a strip of land could be purchased from the neighboring lot to bring this structure into conformance and Bishop replied that it might be possible but would be very complex. Becker said he felt that 15 years without requesting a variance was worthy of thought and Mills replied that, although this builder may not have come before the Board before, other builders continue to come before the Board perhaps through "word of mouth". Mills said she thought that a contractor new to Fayetteville should have given slightly more thought to his project. MOTION Becker said he thought that setbacks were established basically for safety and access and noted that many larger cities have zero setbacks. He moved approval of this request for a variance. House seconded and the motion passed 3-2-0, Mills and Boyd voting "nay". APPEAL 85-12 LAMAR PETTUS REQUEST SiAIVER OF MINIMUM LOT AREA • The second item on the agenda was the consideration of Appeal 85-12 submitted by Lamar Pettus for property located at 246 E. Sixth Street. Request is for waiver of minimum lot area requirement for professional offices in an R-2 zone. Offices are permitted as a conditional use which will be presented to the Planning Commission on May 13, 1985. Pettus said that he owns subject property and has been approached by the administrative staff of the Economic Opportunity Office with regards to relocating their office to the southwest part of town. Pettus said he will make certain improvements to the house and the property if this tenant occupies. He said the property backs up to a City park and a public school and he advised that he will be presenting a request to the Planning Commission for a Conditional Use which is necessary to allow offices in a residential zone. Ivy Conley, director of BOA Headstart, said that Headstart offices have always been located within one of the headstart facilities and not been very visible. She said there is a need to be more centrally located to better serve the people of the community and that the desire is to keep this house looking like a house rather than an office. Conley said that EOA wishes to be in this particular area because it is a target area for their services and many of their clients do not have transportation. She said by being more accessible, many more of their clients will be able to take advantage of their services. • Judy Morgan, a resident to the east, said that subject property is not currently being used and she thought it would be an improvement for the neighborhood to house the Headstart offices at this location. 33 • 3 Board of Adjustment May 6, 1985 Page 3 Mills asked the extent of the work Pettus has in mind and he replied that he would install central heat and air, clean up the brush, install storm windows and change interior partitions as well as replace the front porch. He said he understands that a handicap ramp is required for one entrance and that some additional parking is also required. Jones said that one parking space per 300 sq.ft. of total floor space is required or, in this case, five spaces with one being for handicapped. Jones added that, if the five spaces are within 25 ft. of the street r/w, they must be paved and that she would take a Bill of Assurance for sidewalk if it is indicated on the Master Sidewalk Plan. Pettus said he didn't mind paving unless it was too expensive. Mills asked if this will be the only Headstart location and Conley replied that there are currently two locations in Fayetteville and one in Springdale. Boyd noted that both Sixth Street and Willow are narrow and busy. Pettus replied that he thought the best and safest traffic flow would be to enter and exit from Willow. Boyd inquired how many staff the office will house and Conley replied • that there will be six staff members who are in and out and that she did not expect much administrative traffic. Boyd asked why one acre is required for offices in an R-2 District and Jones replied that it is probably because offices would be felt to be an intrusion in a residential neighborhood. Jones cited sections of code regarding types of offices which may occupy in certain residential zones on appeal to the Planning Commission She noted the Planning Commission would have to feel satisfied with ingress/egress, vehicular and pedestrian traffic safety and convenience, traffic flow and several other considerations. Jones explained that there are occasions when an actual use is not addressed in the code book and that it is up to the Planning Office to make an interpretation as to where that use would lie. She said if someone disagrees with that interpretation, they may appeal it to this Board. Becker, Boyd and Allred stated they were in favor of this variance. MOTION Mills moved approval of granting this variance with the provision that it revert to a conforming residential zoning if Headstart vacates. Allred seconded and the motion to approve passed 5-0-0. 11 3y • 4 Board of Adjustment May 6, 1985 Page 4 Becker advised that he would be representing a client before this Board at the next meeting and noted that he would be abstaining from voting in the case. He briefly explained that the Planning Commission is currently addressing the parking requirement which his client is requesting a variance from. Chairman House and other members of this Board welcomed new members, Jerry Allred and Gerald Boyd. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. During a discussion following this meeting, Becker discovered that he had been inaccurate in his reference to this developer having never requested a variance from this board anytime in the past 15 years. (See Page 2, paragraph 2). • r1 L_J 33