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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZoning Board Of Appeals - Minutes - 11/08/2007FORT COLLINS ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Regular Meeting — November 8, 2007 8:45 a.m. uCouncil Liaison: Kelly Ohlson IStaff Liaison: Peter Barnes (221-6760) 11 11 Chairperson: Dwight Hall u 11 A regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Thursday, November 8, 2007 a1 8:45 a.m. in the Council Chambers of the Fort Collins Municipal Building at 300 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Ron Daggett Dwight Hall Andy Miscio Jim Pisula EXCUSED ABSENCES: Alison Dickson Robert Donahue Dana McBride STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator Paul Eckman, Deputy City Attorney Angelina Sanchez -Sprague, Staff Support to the Board 1. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order and roll call was taken. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Pisula made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 11, 2007 meeting. Daggett seconded the motion. Motion approved. Eckman reported that per Robert's Rules of Order, abstentions used in voting will go to the prevailing side. In the case of the approval of the October 11, 2007 minutes, two yeas and two abstentions approve the minutes. Vote: Yeas: Daggett, Pisula Nays: Abstain: Hall, Miscio 3. APPEAL NO. 2591 - APPROVED Address: 1218 W. Elm Street Petitioner: Herb Hart Zone: NCL Section: 4.7 (D)(5) ZBA October 11, 2007— Page 2 Background: The variance will increase the maximum amount of floor area allowed on the rear half of the lot from 843 square feet to 1058.5 square feet in order to allow a one-story addition on the west side of the house. The applicant is proposing to construct a 445 square foot, one-story addition on the west side of the house. A portion of the addition will extend into the rear half of the lot, thus requiring the variance. Petitioners Statement of Hardship: The intent of the standard is to limit the amount of building coverage on the rear portion of old town lots. Old town lots are generally 150 to 190 feet in depth. This house was constructed in 1978 and the property was rezoned in 1991 to NCL. The lot is 99 feet deep and the house was constructed at the center point of the lot. Most properties in the NCL zone have deeper lots with the homes constructed at the front of the lot providing for large rear yards. This property and the surrounding neighborhood does not conform with typical NCL neighborhoods as other homes were also built at the center of the lot as opposed to the front. Other lots in the neighborhood also do not have the typical deep lots as seen in the NCL zoning district. Staff Comments: This subdivision was zoned RL at the time it was developed in 1977, and was developed pursuant to the RL zone standards. This is similar to the variance the Board granted last month for the property on Eastdale. The NCL regulation was not intended to apply to typical old town lots, not to newer lots that were developed in a manner which resulted in different street and lot configurations than found in old town. Staff Presentation: Barnes presented slides relevant to the application. The Board has heard similar cases in which there was a need for a variance for floor area on the rear half of the lot that exceeds Code requirements. There was a similar case last month where the neighborhood was not designed like typical old town lots. While NCL zoning is similar to the old town district zoning, this neighborhood does not resemble old town characteristics. This lot is 99 feet, much shallower than the 150 to 190 foot lot depth found in old town. The house is placed more toward the back of the lot and may already be non -conforming. On this lot, only 843 square feet would be allowed and 1058.5 are proposed. The neighborhood was built in 1977. It does not have parallel and perpendicular streets or alleys like old town. The house is centered on the lot and a good portion of the house is already on the rear portion. A one-story addition is planned on the west side. The lot abuts a large, unimproved lot on the west side. Hall asked the purpose of the code in this situation. Barnes replied it is to preserve old town character. Homes are closer to the street in historic old town. The Code was changed in 2004 to prevent rear portions of the lots from being overbuilt in historic neighborhoods. Applicant's Participation: Herb Hart's address is 609 Cordial Road. He began to plan the addition when the owners asked for additional space. He is requesting an addition of 445 square feet to the west side. All building criteria have been met except for the NCL requirement that expansion be limited at the rear half of the lot, and he is here today to ask the Board for a variance to that requirement. Board Discussion: Pisula stated that the proposed variance was acceptable to him. Hall noted that the change is not dramatic. Miscio asked if the granting of the variance would be based on nominal and ZBA October 11, 2007— Page 3 inconsequential or hardship reasons. He also asked Barnes what other houses in the neighborhood have buildings in the rear portion of the lot. Barnes responded that he did not have that information but that one can see by viewing the aerials of the neighborhood there are portions of existing homes in the back half of the lots. Barnes also stated that Mr. Hart did a good job of outlining the addition on the site plan. When the home was built in 1997, the zoning was RL. Zoning was changed in 1991 when City Council wanted to preserve the characteristics of old town with eastside/westside neighborhoods. The Board also asked if the addition would be in compliance with the RL zone regulations. Barnes responded yes. Eckman suggested the justification for approval could be hardship in that it is a unique lot and shallower than typical old town lots. This uniqueness plus the regulations relating to NCL create a hardship. Hall made a motion to approve appeal number 2591 because the granting of the variance would not be detrimental to the public good and there are exceptional physical conditions or extraordinary and exceptional situations unique to the property which is the subject of the appeal as follows: the Code was intended to preserve the character of typical old town neighborhood lots with their narrow width and deep lots. The subject lot and this neighborhood are not typical of old town lots. All other code requirements have been met. Miscio seconded the motion. Vote: Yeas: Daggett, Hall, Miscio, Pisula Nays: 4. APPEAL NO. 2592 - APPROVED Address: 3727 Eclipse Lane Petitioner: Village Homes of Colorado Zone: LMN Section: 3.5.2(D)(2) Background: The variance would reduce the required front yard setback from 15 feet to 13 feet 9 inches. The home is completed and at the time the Improvement Location Certification was submitted it was determined that the front porch encroached into the front setback. Petitioner's Statement of Hardship: The front porch would need to be reconstructed, which would alter the roof line and continuity of the front fagade rendering the front porch essentially useless as there would be only approximately 1.83' of space between the columns and the front face of the house. Staff Comments: None. Staff Presentation: Barnes noted that this is the Willowbrook Subdivision in Observatory Village. Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the contractor must submit a survey or Improvement Location ZBA October 11, 2007— Page 4 Certificate to show that the constructed house complies with the setback requirements. From time to time, actual construction ends up being a little off. This encroachment was discovered at the time Village Homes submitted their Improvement Location Certification. The setback requirement is 15 feet, and in this case, the actual setback measurement is 13'9". The general character of the homes in the neighborhood can be seen in the slides. Most have prominent porches close to the street. The Applicant has stated that if the variance is not granted, the front porch would need to be reconstructed, altering the roof line and continuity of the front fagade, rendering a portion of the front porch essentially unusable. Hall asked if the measurement was to the post. Barnes replied that the setback extends to the actual column without the brick veneer. The veneer generally does not appear on the plans. Hall also asked which components are critical. Barnes responded that the porch floor doesn't count if it's less than 30 inches above grade for this house, and that the eaves are allowed to encroach up to two feet. Miscio asked if the porch would need to be reconstructed, moving the posts to create a narrower deck if this variance is not approved. Pisula asked if there have been issues similar to this with this development. Barnes replied no and stated that 400 of the 545 dwelling units have been built, and this was the first house with this issue. Applicant's Participation: Todd Nevin is with Village Homes of Colorado. Their business address is 100 Inverness Terrace East, Suite 200, Englewood, Colorado. Nevin reported that the structural post is 14'4" from the setback. With the addition of the brick, the distance is 137. Village Homes' concern is that if the variance is not granted they would need to reconstruct the porch, rendering a portion of the front porch essentially unusable. The home has been sold, and they are delaying informing the purchaser of the setback error until after the Board's review. They are also concerned because the home will be out of character with the other homes in the neighborhood. Hall asked if there was a motivation to encroach on the setback on this house. Nevin responded that it was just an honest mistake. Miscio calculated that the total square footage of the porch encroachment was only about 20 square feet and seemed pretty inconsequential. Hall asked about the square footage of the house. Nevin responded that it was 1,868 including the porch. Hall stated the justification for the variance is nominal and inconsequential. Board Discussion: Pisula believes Village Homes made an honest mistake. He asked Nevin if steps were being taken to prevent that type of mistake in the future. Nevin responded they are setting processes in motion. They have not done surveys in the past prior to pouring the foundation as a cost -saving measure. Nevin said they would survey prior to the pour to prevent similar problems in the future. Miscio stated he thought this particular problem was an anomaly and does not stand out markedly from other porches in the neighborhood. Pisula agreed and noted Village Homes' willingness to add system controls. Hall stated he felt conditioning the approval was not necessary. But, if it should happen again, that would be an indication of negligence. Miscio made a motion to approve appeal number 2592 because the granting of the variance would not be detrimental to the public good and there are exceptional physical conditions or extraordinary and exceptional situations unique to the property which is the subject of the appeal as follows: the encroachment appears to be an honest mistake and an anomaly r ZBA October 11, 2007— Page 5 given that 400 homes in the development have been built in the subdivision without a problem. The applicant is also taking measures to avoid having a like situation happen again, and that one occurrence is a mistake, but another one could be negligence. Hall seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Vote: Yeas: Daggett, Hall, Miscio, Pisula Nays: 5. Other Business: Barnes reported that Robert Donahue has resigned. Donahue has accepted a new position in Boulder, and he and his family will be relocating. His resignation has been forwarded to the City Clerk's office. The vacancy created with his resignation will be filled at the same time City Council fills Andy Miscio's term -limited vacancy. Barnes noted that the December 13`h meeting will be Andy Miscio's last meeting. The meeting adjourned at 9:40 a.m. wight Hall, Chairperson Peter Barnes, Zoning Administrator