Board of Zoning Appeals

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2017 The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Thursday, February 9, 2017, at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 45 E. Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee. MEMBERS PRESENT: James Dial, Sid Gilbreath, and Nancy Bohannon. MEMBERS ABSENT: Elwood Ervin and Jane Flatt. STAFF PRESENT: James Mills, Jayne Barns, Ken Young, Jon Ward and Mike Davidson. OTHERS PRESENT: Chad & Sarah McDonald, Jim Means, Ricky Shelton and Peter Metts. CONSIDER FOR APPROVAL THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 12, 2017. James Dial made the motion to approve the minutes of January 12, 2017. Nancy Bohannon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE TO REDUCE THE SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS FROM 10’ TO 5’ 8” FOR A TOTAL VARIANCE OF 4’ 4” FOR THE ADDITION OF A FAMILY ROOM ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 437 FREEZE STREET. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY CHAD & SARAH MCDONALD. James Mills stated that Mr. Chad McDonald has submitted a request for a variance to reduce the minimum side yard setback requirement for his property located at 437 Freeze Street. The purpose of the request is to allow for an addition to the rear of an existing single family dwelling. The subject property is identified as Parcel 19.00 on Tax Map 53F, Group C and is zoned as RS-10, Single Family Residential. Located to the east and west are existing single family dwellings. The property is also located within the East Broad-Freeze Street Historic District. According to a submitted survey, the residential structure at 437 Freeze Street is located along the eastern property line within the side yard setback as required for the RS-10 zoning district. The minimum side yard setback requirement for this zoning district is ten (10) feet. The submitted survey indicates that the dwelling encroaches the required setback by approximately 4 feet 4 inches. The dwelling is considered a legal nonconforming structure which is a structure that legally existed prior to the adoption of a zoning regulation to which is does not conform. In addition, the parcel on which the dwelling is located is nonconforming to the minimum lot width requirements of the RS-10 district. According to the survey the parcel is approximately 62 feet in width which is 13 feet less than required (75 feet) in the RS-10 district. Mr. McDonald desires to do an addition to his home by constructing a 16 foot extension to the rear of the structure at the same width as the existing structure. This would require the approval of a variance of 4 feet 4 inches. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 2 FEBRUARY 9, 2017 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 of the zoning district. In this case the proposed expansion would be located within an area requirement (side yard setback) of the RS-10 district, which requires the approval of a variance. In opinion of the Planning Department the narrow width of the subject property does constitute a particular hardship. It is also the Planning Department’s opinion that the requested variance would have minimal impact on adjacent properties. Staff recommended approval of the request as submitted and as depicted on the submitted site plan. James Dial made the motion to approve a variance to reduce the side yard setback requirements from 10’ to 5’ 8” for a total variance of 4’ 4”, as depicted on the submitted site plan, for the addition of a family room on the property located at 437 Freeze Street. Nancy Bohannon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED 4’ 4” VARIANCE IN THE SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE TO REDUCE THE FRONT YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS ON LOWELAND ROAD FROM 30’ TO 23’ FOR A TOTAL VARIANCE OF 7’ FOR THE ADDITION TO AN EXISTING DWELLING LOCATED AT 821 NORTH MAPLE AVENUE. REQUEST SUBMITTED BY RICKY SHELTON. James Mills stated that Mr. Ricky Shelton has submitted a request for a variance to reduce the minimum front yard setback requirement for his property located at 821 South Maple Avenue. The purpose of the request is to allow for an addition to the side of an existing single family dwelling. The subject property is identified as Parcel 19.00 on Tax Map 40N, Group D and is zoned as RS-15, Single Family Residential. The minimum front yard setback requirement in the RS-15 zoning district is 30 feet. Mr. Shelton is requesting that the setback requirement be reduced by seven (7) feet to 23 feet. The subject property is unique in that it has street frontage on three (3) sides, North Maple Avenue on the west and Loweland Road on the south and east. The Zoning Code classifies all street frontages as front yards for which the required front yard setback is applicable. In this case setbacks of 30 feet apply. The property is also affected by topographic issues which restrict where additions could occur. Furthermore the request is for one small triangular shaped area of encroachment, not for the entire length of the property. A submitted survey indicates that the maximum width of the proposed encroachment is 14 feet. In the Planning Department’s opinion the multiple street frontages and topographic issues create a particular hardship which would justify the approval of some degree of variance. It is BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS 3 FEBRUARY 9, 2017 also the Planning Department’s opinion that the requested variance is minimal and would have no impact on nearby properties. Staff recommended approval of the request as submitted and as depicted on the submitted site plan. Nancy Bohannon made the motion to approve a variance to reduce the front yard setback requirements on Oaklawn Road from 30’ to 23’ for a total variance of 7’, as depicted on the submitted site plan, for the addition to an existing dwelling located at 821 North Maple Avenue. James Dial seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. APPROVED 4’ 4” VARIANCE IN THE SIDE YARD SETBACK REQUIREMENTS. ADJOURNMENT: 5:27 P.M. SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL SUBMITTED FOR RECORDING _____________________________ ______________________________ JAYNE BARNS CPS SID GILBREATH, CHAIRMAN PLANNING ASSISTANT BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS