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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-05 MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT A regular meeting of the Board of Adjustment was held on November 5, 2007 at 3:45 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. ACTION TAKEN BOA 07-2778: (PRINCE, 330): Approved Page 3 BOA 07-2789: (GILMOUR, 445) Approved Page 4 BOA 07-2790 (KRYZANOWSKI, 485): Approved Page 5 BOA 07-2792: (SCHULTZ, 599): Approved Page 6 MEMBERS PRESENT James Zant Robert Kohler William Chesser Sherrie Alt Bob Nickle Mark Waller STAFFPRESENT Jesse Fulcher Dara Sanders David Whitaker MEMBERS ABSENT Eric Johnson STAFF ABSENT Andrew Gamer Board of Adjustment Chair Bob Kohler called the meeting to order. Approval of the October 1, 2007 Board of Adjustment meeting minutes. Board Member Waller noted an error in the minutes for BOA 07-2736, which indicates that he voted no. Motion: Board Member Zant made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 01, 2007 BOA Meeting. Board Member Chesser seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed with a vote of 6-0-0. New Business: BOA 07-2778: (PRINCE, 330): Submitted by BLEW & ASSOCIATES for property located at 2215 OLD WIRE ROAD. The property is zoned RSF-4, SINGLE FAMILY - 4 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.70 acres. The request is for a 50' lot width (a 20' variance.) Dara Sanders, Current Planner, gave the staff report. Staff recommended denial of the applicant's request for a lot width variance of 20' but recommended approval of a 10' variance, the minimum required, with conditions, based on the findings within the report. Board Member Zant asked if the applicant is aware of staff's recommendation. Board Member Kohler expressed that the 20' variance is of no consequence. Board Member Waller asked about the existing curb cut. Board Member Zant referred to the staff report, noting that the applicant's request is not the minimum required. He stated that the concept of a variance is the minimum required to make use of the land. David Whitaker, Assistant City Attorney, verified that the ordinance states that the Board should grant the minimum. Board Member Kohler asked for public comment. Mr. John Willes (neighbor) expressed concern with the trend of decreasing property sizes and asked the Board to consider the implications on the neighborhood. Board Member Kohler expressed concern for the buildable area on the created lot if the applicant does not receive a 20' variance. Motion: Board Member Chesser moved to grant approval of the applicant's request and to strike the first Condition of Approval from the staff report. Board Member Zant seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed with a vote of 5-1-0 with Board Member Waller voting "no". BOA 07-2789: (GILMOUR, 445): Submitted by BRET PARK for property located at 1 E. PROSPECT STREET. The property is zoned RMF -24, MULTI FAMILY - 24 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.34 acres. The request is for a 23' rear setback (a 2' variance) to allow for an addition and a 22' front setback (a 3' variance) to bring a non -conforming structure into compliance. Jesse Fulcher, Current Planner, gave the staff report. Board Member Zant stated that it was a very small encroachment. Board Member Nickle noted that the existing property predates the underlying zoning and that the applicant's proposal does not adversely affect the adjacent property owner. Board Member Waller asked the applicant to give reason for the placement of the addition. Could the addition not be designed out of the setback? Bret Park (applicant) explained the process of elimination and the reasoning for the proposed area based on the location of the bedroom, natural extension of house, etc. Board Member Zant asked what the area of the encroachment was. Bret Park stated that he was more concerned with the linear encroachment. Adding the master bath addition above the garage, or separate from the master bedroom would be illogical. Board Member Nickle stated that the applicant could request a rezoning from RMF -24 to RSF-4, which would reduce the rear setback from 25' to 20', thus allowing the addition by right. However, this is very long process with unknown results. No public comment was presented. Motion: Board Member Zant made a motion to approve the applicant's request with all of staff's conditions of approval. Board Member Nickle seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed with a vote of 6-0-0. BOA 07-2790 (KRYZANOWSKI, 485): Submitted by BRET PARK for property located at 307 E. SUTTON STREET. The property is zoned RSF-4, SINGLE FAMILY - 4 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 0.10 acres. The request is for building setback, lot width and lot area variances to bring the existing house into compliance and for a building setback variance for a new addition into the west side setback. Jesse Fulcher, Current Planner, gave the staff report describing the multiple variances necessary to bring the existing lot and structure into compliance as well as the variances necessary for the proposed addition. Board Member Nickle asked if the fifth condition of approval required an officially recorded document Fulcher verified that staff recommends an access agreement be recorded. David Whitaker, Assistant City Attorney, advised that the agreement be officially recorded for the benefit of the existing property owners, as well as all future property owners. Board Member Kohler asked if the variance approval would be affected if the adjacent property owner does not sign an agreement. Whitaker stated that it could result in the variance being voided, as all conditions of approval would not be met. Board Member Nickle asked how wide the easement would need to be. Bret Park (applicant) stated that the existing garage structure would act as the foundation for the second story addition, thus eliminating the need for heavy equipment for construction. The two garages are very close together, so the easement wouldn't need to be more than 10' wide. Board Member Chesser asked what the distance was between the two garages. Bret Park stated that the owners garage was recently painted and that a painter and ladder fit between the two structures, so there is about 2-3' between structures. Board Member Zant stated that he has never seen a property with so many existing nonconformities. Motion: Board Member Nickle made a motion to approve the applicant's request with all of staffs conditions of approval, including a requirement to have the agreement between the property owners filed of record. Board Member Alt seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed with a vote of 6-0-0. BOA 07-2792: (SCHULTZ, 599): Submitted by N. ARTHUR {ART} SCOTT for property located at 1431, 1459 & 1460 W. JUNCTION STREET. The property is zoned RMF -24, MULTI FAMILY - 24 UNITS/ACRE and contains approximately 1.28 acres. The request is for front and side building setback variances to bring a newly constructed apartment complex into compliance. Jesse Fulcher, Current Planner, gave the staff report. . Board Member Kohler asked if the mistake was a result of the structures being built larger or of an error of measurement. Art Scott (applicant) stated that he was not sure. The buildings are 4" wider and the overhangs were not considered in the measurements. Dale Schultz (builder) added that the workers measured the placement of the buildings from the pins. He, too, was not sure at which point in the process the mistake was made. Art Scott stated that the mistake was not realized until the horizontal property regime survey was conducted. Board Member Kohler stated that this could be a way to increase the square footage of each unit and then ask for forgiveness. David Whitaker, Assistant City Attorney, asked if the structures were located within a utility easement. Fulcher stated that the structures were located in an easement. Art Scott stated that they were told the structures could remain if all utility companies were okay with the encroachment. Motion: Board Member Zant made a motion to approve the applicant's request with all of staff's conditions of approval. Board Member Alt seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed with a vote of 4-2-0 with Board Member Waller and Kohler voting "no". Other Business: Jesse Fulcher stated that there is a Board of Adjustment Training/Information Session being scheduled for either November 291h or December 3rd depending on the board members schedules. The meeting will be approximately 2 hours in length. An email will be sent out requesting information on each member's availability for each meeting time. All business being concluded, the meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM.