Board of Zoning Appeals

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MINUTES DECEMBER 8, 2016 The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Thursday, December 8, 2016, at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 45 E. Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. MEMBERS PRESENT: Nancy Bohannon, James Dial, Elwood Ervin, Jane Flatt, and Sid Gilbreath. STAFF PRESENT: James Mills, Jayne Barns, Ken Young, and Jon Ward. OTHERS PRESENT: Kacy Minnear, Charles Whittenburg, Lee Williams, Ginger Dunn, Lauren Shibakov, Randy Chaffin and Steve Vaughn. CONSIDER FOR APPROVAL THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 10, 2016. James Dial made the motion to approve the minutes of November 10, 2016. Jane Flatt seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A SETBACK VARIANCE FOR THE EXPANSION OF A NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE LOCATED AT 214 EAST STEVENS STREET. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY CHARLES WHITTENBURG. Mr. Charles Whittenburg has submitted a request for a variance to reduce the front yard setback requirement for property located at 214 East Stevens Street. The purpose of the request is to allow for the addition of a deck to an existing nonconforming structure in which Whittenburg Land Surveying is located. The subject property is identified as Parcel 21.00 on Tax Map 53K, Group J and is zoned as CL, Local Commercial. The parcel is a corner lot located at the northwest intersection of East Stevens Street and Barret Drive. The properties located to the north and east are zoned as CL and the properties to the west and south are south as RD, Single Family and Duplex Residential. Mr. Whittenburg owns the contiguous property to the east located at 208 East Stevens. The existing structure is nonconforming to the front setback requirements off both East Stevens Street and Barret Drive. The minimum setback off local streets in the CL district is 30 feet and a submitted survey indicates that the existing structure, at its closest point, is less than nine (9) feet from the property lines on both East Stevens Street and Barret Drive. In fact, as depicted on the survey, the majority of the existing structure is located within the required building setback areas. A legal nonconforming structure is a structure that existed prior to the establishment of zoning regulations to which the structure does not comply. Under the provisions of Tennessee Code Section 13-7-208, nonconforming uses are allowed to remain in perpetuity provided they do not cease operation for a period of at least 30 consecutive months. They also have the right to expand on existing property provided there is enough space to meet the area requirements (setbacks) of the zoning district. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 DECEMBER 8, 2016 Mr. Whittenburg would like to replace an existing metal staircase located on the rear of the existing structure with a wood deck eight (8) feet in width and 40 feet in length. The existing staircase is approximately four (4) feet wide and 13 feet long and is primarily located within the required building setback area. It is located approximately 18 feet at its closest point from the Barret Drive right-of-way. The specific request is for a reduction of the front setback requirement by 21 feet to approximately nine (9) feet for a distance of eight (8) feet. The addition would be in line with the existing structure and would not encroach in the setback area along Barret Drive any more than the existing structure. Barret Drive has a right-of-way width of 60 feet and the existing structure on Parcel 21.00 is located approximately 28 feet from edge of the street. Barret Drive is a very short street, extending only an estimated 300 feet between East Stevens Street and Shipley Street, and it is highly unlikely it will ever need to be widened. In the opinion of the Planning Department the request will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in the area. Staff recommended approval of request as depicted on the submitted site plan. Elwood Ervin made the motion to approve the setback variance for the expansion of a non-conforming structure located at 214 East Stevens Street, as depicted on the submitted site plan. Jane Flatt seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED SETBACK VARIANCE FOR NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A 5’ VARIANCE IN THE FRONT YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CANOPY ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 427 NORTH WILLOW AVENUE. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY LAUREN SHIBAKOV ON BEHALF OF AMP PROPERTIES. James Mills stated that Ms. Lauren Shibakov, on behalf of AMP Partnership, has submitted a request for a variance to reduce the front yard setback requirement off a Major Street for property located at 427 North Willow Avenue. The subject property is identified as Parcel 42.00 on Tax Map 53B, Group B and is zoned as MS, Medical Services. It is contiguous with properties zoned as MS to the north, south and east and with properties zoned as CL, Local Commercial on the west side of North Willow Avenue. Located on the property is a vacant commercial structure that was previously used as a medical office. AMP Partnership has purchased the property and the property adjacent to the north for the purpose developing a multi-tenant commercial structure. North Willow Avenue is classified as a Major Street and as such a building setback of 50 feet from the right-of-way is required. According to a survey submitted by the petitioner the existing structure is located at approximately 50 feet from the front property line. As a part of renovating the existing structure, the petitioner plans to expand it by enclosing a pergola area at the front of the building. The expansion would match the existing setback BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 3 DECEMBER 8, 2016 on the remainder of the building. The renovations would also involve the installation of a sidewalk at the front of the building in between the structure and a parking area. The petitioners wish to install a canopy over the proposed sidewalk and are requesting a variance to reduce the setback requirement of 50 feet to 45 feet. The Planning Department has some concern regarding the effect of a reduction in the setback and the potential widening of North Willow Avenue. The need to construct a center turn lane along North Willow Avenue has been identified and a request for completing the widening of the state highway has been submitted to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Due to the lack of sufficient right-of-way it is anticipated that additional right-of-way will have to be obtained to accommodate the widening of the street. The primary concern is whether the approval of a setback variance would hinder this future acquisition of property. According to the existing site layout a landscape area approximately seven (7) feet in width currently exists along North Willow Avenue in front of the existing structure. A minimum landscape yard of 10 feet is required along all street frontages of new construction. While the existing landscape yard is not at the required width, the existence of the yard would minimize the impact on the required parking area should right-of-way be acquired to widen North Willow Avenue. Ideally the landscape yard would be expanded to comply with the requirements for new construction. In the opinion of the Planning Department the request will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in the area. Staff recommended approval of request as depicted on the submitted site plan. Mr. Mills added that the existing landscape strip along the street frontage must remain in place. Lauren Shibakov of Lauren Engineering reviewed the request with the Board. Randy Chaffin, property owner at 405 North Willow, noticed on the power point that the alley that he had closed behind his business several years ago did not reflect what he remembered. Mr. Mills replied that they would check into it for him. Kacy Minnear of AMP Partnership asked Mr. Mills about the procedure to close the alley behind their business. Mr. Mills explained the street closure process to Ms. Minnear. Elwood Ervin made the motion to approve the 5’ Variance in the front yard setback requirements as depicted on the submitted site plan. James Dial seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED 5’ VARIANCE IN THE FRONT SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CANOPY. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 4 DECEMBER 8, 2016 ADJOURNMENT: 5:35 P.M. SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL SUBMITTED FOR RECORDING _____________________________ ______________________________ JAYNE BARNS CPS SID GILBREATH, CHAIRMAN PLANNING ASSISTANT BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS