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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZoning Board Of Appeals - Minutes - 06/12/1997ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS REGULAR MEETING June 12, 1997 Council Liaison: Ann Azari Chairperson: Martin Breth, Jr. 8:30am Staff Liaison: Peter Barnes 229-1629(w) 226-5101(h) The regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Thursday, June 12, 1997, in the Council Chambers of the Fort Collins Municipal Building. The following members were present: Keating, Shannon, Breth, Gustafson, Stockover Absent: Lieser, Felner Staff members present: Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator Elain Radford, Building & Zoning Admin. Support The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Breth. Approval of the minutes from the May 1997 meeting is postponed until the July 1997 meeting because ZBA members did not receive a copy of the May minutes. Appeal 2197, 214 West Street by Robin Nielsen, owner, NCM Zone, approved. Section 4.7 (E) (4) --- The variance would reduce the required side yard setback along the south alley from 5' to 0' in order to allow the construction of a new, oversized one -car garage. The new garage will be constructed at the same setback as the existing garage (the existing garage will be demolished). --- Petitioner's statement of hardship: The existing garage has been declared unsafe by the Building Inspection'Department. The zoning code allows an unsafe building to be rebuilt at the existing setbacks as long as the new building is the same size as the old one. In this case, the existing garage is only 10'xl7' and is really undersized to be fully functional. The owner would like to have the new garage be 20' deep instead of 17', therefore, the new one would only be increasing the non -conforming setbacks by 3'. Also, building the new one at the proposed location would allow use of the existing driveway and allow the fence to remain as is. - Staff comments: None E ZBA June 12, 1997 Page 2 Zoning Administrator Barnes presented slides illustrating property under consideration. The alley is along the south property line and forms the south property line which is the location of this setback variance request. The existing building was declared unsafe by the Building Inspection Department. There is an existing fence along the side of the house which is approximately on the property line and it angles in which forms the driveway of the old garage. The proposal is to demolish this and construct a new garage. As indicated the applicant could get a building permit to demolish this and build a new one at the same location and of the same size. However, the applicant desires to make it slightly larger. It would come out an additional 3 feet towards the west along the existing, non -conforming setback. Instead of 17 feet deep it would be 20 feet deep. It would still be basically a one car garage with an area off to the side for storage or a workshop. Board Questions: Board member Breth asked if the old garage had any kind of overhang and would the new garage be allowed a roof overhang protruding into the alley. Barnes responded that the old garage appears to have a slight overhang and this is something the appellant would have to discuss with the Engineering Department to have it encroach over the right-of-way. Bames explained that it is a 20 feet wide alley and the alley path is usually 2-3 feet less than that on both sides of the alley. If the Engineering Department did not allow the overhang, they would not be allowed to have an eve on the south side of the garage. Board member Gustafson asked if there are other garages along this alley that are right up against the alley. Barnes showed slides of other garages that are also along the alley with about a 6 inch overhang. Petitioner: Robin Nielsen, owner of property, addressed the Board. She stated there are other restrictions to putting a garage elsewhere on the property such as utility, telephone, and cable lines that she would have to pay to have moved, as well as the old lilac bushes behind the garage which she would like to remain. She explained that mainly she wants to build the new garage in the same place as the old one, have the garage door in the same place, still have the existing driveway, leave the privacy fence up, and have access to the backyard. Board Discussion: Breth asked if moving the fence would be an option. ZBA June 12, 1997 Page 3 Petitioner Nielsen replied that it would be difficult to move the fence and stated that the driveway itself is impacted with years of layers of gravel and is not sure it would be possible to reclaim the driveway. Breth asked what the other side of the garage would be used for. Nielson responded that it would be used for storage because the house has no storage space. Audience members came forward to speak in favor of this appeal: Paul Miller addressed the Board and stated that he lives two houses north of Robin. He stated that since Robin moved into the neighborhood a few years ago, she had made nice improvements to her property. He stated that Robin is an artist which shows in her landscaping and he believes that the plans Robin has for the garage will enhance the beauty of her property as well as increase the value of properties in the adjacent neighborhoods. He also commented that he feels those present today to speak in favor of Robin's request are representative of their entire neighborhood. Carol Davis addressed the Board and stated that she lives next door to Robin. She spoke in favor of Robin and emphasized that Robin's garage and addition, as planned, won't be visible and won't change the character of the neighborhood. Annette Miller, wife of Paul Miller, addressed the Board. She, also, spoke in favor of Robin and stated that Robin has impeccable taste and her garage plans fit in with the Eastside/Westside neighborhood plans. Board Discussion: Board member Shannon commented that this appeal seems to be a very straightforward situation because of the existing building. Shannon motioned to approve Appeal 2197 for the hardship as presented. Keating seconded the motion. VOTE: Yeas: Keating, Shannon, Breth, Gustafson, Stockover Nays: none ZBA June 12, 1997 Page 4 Other Business: Barnes handed out "draft" copies of proposed changes to the Land Use Code scheduled to go to Council on July 15, 1997. He explained that the packet and the rest of the narrative explaining these and more substantive changes will not be ready until Wednesday, 6/18/97. Once he receives these they will be mailed out to each ZBA member. Martin Breth, Jr., Chairperson �� 13 Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator APPEAL FOR MODIFICATION OF ZONING ORDINANCE_ TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS r�i ig� 28 19 APPLICATION NO. MAY �a5 Meeting Date: Petitioner must be present at the meeting. When a building or sign permit is required for any work for which a variance has been granted, the permit must be obtained within six months of the date of the variance. Any extension of this six month time limit must be stipulated by the Zoning Board of Appeals at the time the variance is granted. Address of Job: X1'f tUCS*t $� , Zoning District �aPnr'� ve. Owner: Z1pj;n I 4dseh Petitioner: Set tr,P- Petitioner is: Owner Contractor Architect Other Petitioner's address: ! 'q mp Phone No. `ig 3es&�f Status of Job: Not Started Under Construction Finished Specific ordinance modification desired Serf on 44 .q 41 _ .4 n Y— 1 A — Statement of hardship 0 at 'tKL I k4 4z,,: o t44c.. 01 (2 e to Le ,^Qa, r., �f �g e�'u eteunr a Zw� 4L a+ t-d- Date Petitioner / 1 Signature MAN • imn. r[. czums Z 2213093 June 4, 1997 City of Fort Collins Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 RE: Zoning Modification/Variance - Robin Neilsen 214 West Street 970) 221-5484 FAX 221-0821 Dear Mr. Barnes: The Fort Collins Housing Authority has no objection to the development of an oversized garage at 214 West Street. Our property, 227 West Street, will not be affected by this change. Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our office at 221-5484, extension 113. Sincerely, Jeff Valloric, Director of Maintenance JV:kjs City of Fort Collins May 29, 1997 ; and Environmenki Services Permits and Inspection Division LEGAL NOTICE The purpose of this letter is to inform you of a request for a modification of the Zoning Code of the City of Fort Collins. The procedure for a person requesting a modification of the Zoning Code is to make application and appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals. This Board has been established to hear cases, where by reason of exceptional situations or conditions, the strict application of the regulation would result in peculiar and practical difficulties or exceptional undue hardship upon the owner of such property, provided that the granting of a variance would not result in a substantial detriment to the public good. A variance of Code Section(s) 4.7(E)(4) has been requested by Robin Nielsen for the following described property, 214 West Street. The variance would reduce the required side yard setback along the south alley from 5' to 0' in order to allow the construction of a new, oversized one -car garage. The new garage will be constructed at the same setback as the existing garage (the existing garage will be demolished). This item will appear on the Zoning Board of Appeals agenda as Appeal No. 2197 As an adjacent property owner, your input would be appropriate in the consideration of the variance request. The hearing on this appeal will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 12, 1997, in the Council Chambers at 300 Laporte Avenue. Those interested may appear at this meeting, or if unable to attend may submit comments in writing. Meeting sites are generally accessible to handicapped persons. If you are disabled and need special assistance to participate, please call 221-6760. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator at221-6760. A, _6-, A aJ.,-;.,-, Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator 281 North College Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6760