Board of Zoning & Building Appeals

City of Hudson, Ohio Meeting Minutes - Final Board of Zoning & Building Appeals John Dohner, Chair Kerri Keller, Vice Chair Lydia Bronstein Robert Kahrl Louis Wagner Greg Hannan, Community Development Director Amanda Davey, Associate Planner Thursday, July 21, 2022 7:30 PM Town Hall 27 East Main Street I. Call to Order Chairman Dohner called to order the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Zoning & Building Appeals at 7:30 p.m., in accordance with the Sunshine Laws of the State of Ohio, O.R.C. Section 121.22. II. Roll Call Present: 5 - Ms. Bronstein, Mr. Dohner, Ms. Keller, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Kahrl III. Identification, by Chairman, of Amanda Davey, Associate Planner. IV. Swearing in of Staff and Audience Addressing the Board. Chair Dohner swore-in staff and all the persons wishing to speak under oath. V. Approval of Minutes BZBA 4-21-2022Minutes of Previous Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting: April 21, 2022. Attachments: 4-21-2022 Meeting Minutes - DRAFT A motion was made by Mr. Wagner, seconded by Ms. Bronstein, that the April 21, 2022, Minutes be approved as submitted. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4 - Ms. Bronstein, Mr. Dohner, Ms. Keller and Mr. Wagner Abstain: 1 - Mr. Kahrl VI. Public Hearings - New Business BZBA 2022-645 The subject of this hearing is a variance request of two (2) feet from the maximum fence height in the side yard of four (4) feet above the elevation of the surface of the ground, resulting in a height of six (6) City of Hudson, Ohio Page 1 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final July 21, 2022 feet to permit construction of a fence pursuant to section 1206.03(a) (5) “Accessory Uses/Structures - Fences and Walls, Residential” of the City of Hudson Land Development Code. The applicant is Gary Klein, 61 E. Streetsboro Street, Hudson, Ohio 44236. The property owners are, Gary and Nancy Klein 61 E. Streetsboro, Hudson, Ohio 44236 for the property at 61 E. Streetsboro in District 4 [Historic Residential Neighborhood] within the City of Hudson’s Historic District. Attachments: BZBA Staff Report - 61 E. Streetsboro Street Ms. Davey introduced the application by displaying the site, describing the property, reviewing the application, the applicable Land Development Codes, staff considerations and Duncan Factors. Mr. Gary Klein, applicant, described the conversion of the structure at 61 E. Streetsboro from a stable to residential house in 1969, described a variance granted in 2013 to allow a six-foot fence, stated he was unaware of LDC codes which did not allow replacing the entire fence and his belief that a six-foot fence is better for the neighbor’s privacy. The Board, staff and applicant discussed a total fence replacement not being grandfathered in, however, replacing small amounts of the fence at different times, would have been permissible. The Board then discussed whether or not the neighbors would be allowed to build the six-foot fence, the purpose of the fence being mainly to give the neighbors privacy in their outdoor space, confusion regarding the 2013 variance(s), the effect of allowing or disallowing the fence on neighboring views of the property, the intent of the code being to protect the aesthetics of the view of the front of the house, the standard for allowing the variance - must there be a compelling reason or are other reasons sufficient for granting the variance, that a four-foot fence will not give privacy as compared to a six-foot fence and that intermixing four-foot and six-foot fence sections will not be an attractive look. Chair Dohner opened the meeting for Public Comments. Mr. Brice Archer, 7 College Street, owns the adjoining rear property to 61 E. Streetsboro Street, noted he purchased his home with the fence in place and the resulting privacy, which he desires. Mr. Archer also noted that because of existing tree roots he is unable to dig to install post holes on his own property. Seeing no others coming forward, Chair Dohner closed Public Comment. The Board discussed the reasons six-foot fence variance requests for other properties were denied and how they are different from this request, the desirability of a consistent fence height, that the role of BZBA is not necessarily to provide privacy to neighbors, that the applicant could have achieved the same affect by replacing up to fifty-percent of the fence, board by board and since this is replacing a fence that has existed since 1969 it seems appropriate for today in this unique situation. Ms. Keller made a motion, seconded by Ms. Bronstein, after reviewing the application, the hearing of evidence under oath, reviewing all documentary submissions of interested parties and by taking into consideration the personal knowledge of the property in question, the Board of Zoning and Building Appeals grants the following: A variance request of two (2) feet from the maximum fence height in the side yard of four (4) feet above the elevation of the surface of the ground, resulting in a height of six (6) feet to permit construction of a fence pursuant to section 1206.03(a)(5) “Accessory Uses/Structures – Fences and Walls, Residential” of the City of Hudson Land Development Code. City of Hudson, Ohio Page 2 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final July 21, 2022 The Board finds and concludes; 1. The property in question will yield a reasonable return and there can be a beneficial use of the property without the variance. 2. The requested variance is substantial as the 6-foot-high fence represents a 50% increase over the 4 foot maximum height requirement. 3. The essential character of the neighborhood would not be substantially altered, and adjoining properties would not suffer a substantial detriment as a result of the variance. The character the of the neighborhood will remain the same as the existing fence has been up since 1969; however, it will be improved as it will be a new fence. 4. The variances would not adversely affect the delivery of governmental services. 5. The existing regulations were not in affect when the applicant purchased the property in 1969. The current Land Development Code regulations were adopted in 1999. 6. The applicant's predicament feasibly cannot be resolved through some other method other than granting the variances as there is a walnut tree that has roots that would impact any landscaping privacy plantings that would be installed. 7. The spirit and intent behind the zoning requirement would be observed and substantial justice would be done by granting the variance. The proposed 6-foot-high fence would be in the rear yard of the adjacent property owners, where a 6-foot-high fence is typically allowable. Aye: 4 - Ms. Bronstein, Mr. Dohner, Ms. Keller and Mr. Kahrl Nay: 1 - Mr. Wagner VII. Other Business Ms. Davey and the Board discussed appointments to the Comprehensive Review Plan and the August BZBA meeting. This matter was discussed VIII. Adjournment A motion was made by Ms. Keller, seconded by Ms. Bronstein, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried by an unanimous vote. Seeing no further business Chair Dohner adjourned the meeting. ________________________________ City of Hudson, Ohio Page 3 Board of Zoning & Building Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final July 21, 2022 John M. Dohner, Chair ________________________________ Kerri L. Keller, Vice Chair ________________________________ Joe Campbell, Executive Assistant Upon approval by the Board of Zoning & Building Appeals, this official written summary of the meeting minutes shall become a permanent record, and the official minutes shall also consist of a permanent audio and video recording, excluding executive sessions, in accordance with Codified Ordinances, Section 252.04, Minutes of Architectural and Historic Board of Review, Board of Zoning and Building Appeals, and Planning Commission. * * * City of Hudson, Ohio Page 4