MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS,
WHICH TOOK
PLACE ON
AT
1. ROLL CALL.
PRESENT: Board
Members – Green. Higgins, Lichtenwald,
Pelton and Sutton
ABSENT: Holthof (unexcused)
OTHERS
PRESENT: Mark Ostgarden, secretary and three people in the audience
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES.
The
minutes of
In Old/New Business, the last sentence in the third paragraph should have the word “granted” changed to “heard”.
PUBLIC HEARINGS AND
CONSIDERATION.
Petition No.
03-01 – Matthew and Kathy Morley for a variance to permit a
garage addition to encroach into a required side yard at
The secretary explained that the
subject property is zoned RA-1 and located in a developed residential
area. The lot is 100’ wide and 140’
deep. The RA-1 zone requires an 80’
minimum lot width. The petitioners desire to add onto the house and construct a
new garage that will encroach 4’ into the required side yard setback. One letter of support was included in the
packet and one additional letter of support was received at and entered into
the record at the meeting.
The Morley’s explained to the Board
that they had discussed several alternatives with the architect for the
project. The proposed addition was the
most practical alternative for the house built in 1935. They have already removed a considerable
amount of landscaping which hid the house.
They are trying to save trees on the back part of the lot. There is unique brick on the house, which
will be reused on the addition. The
variance will allow only a 21’ wide garage, the minimum the Morley’s thought
was needed to park two vehicles side by side.
Setting the garage elsewhere on the lot will take up too much rear yard
and destroy a childrens play area. The
side load nature of the existing garage makes it difficult to maneuver a
vehicle into and the garage door openings are too small for today’s
vehicles. The proposal keeps the
original beauty of the home but meets today’s standards. There is also a very small kitchen and the
variance will allow an expansion of that area.
Sally Sutton observed in looking
around the neighborhood that there was a mixture of one and two car
garages. She was concerned about the
encroachment and thought an attached garage could be constructed at an angle or
a detached two car garage in the rear yard and not encroach
onto the side yard. The Morley’s were
concerned about taking up too much rear yard.
No one else spoke in support of or
in opposition to the request.
FINDINGS OF FACT:
1.
The property is zoned Residential A-1.
2.
The lot size 100’ (wide) and 140’
(deep).
3.
The house was built in 1935 and has had
three owners.
4.
There were two letters in support of
the request.
5.
The garage is a double car side entry
with a center post.
6.
There is a mixture of garage styles in
the neighborhood (one and two car).
7.
The request is a 50% encroachment (into
the side yard).
8.
The adjacent structure is more than 8’
from the side property line.
9.
The house occupies 84’ of the 100’
width and 62’ of the 140’ depth.
10. The
proposed garage will have tandem parking.
It
was moved by Jack Higgins, seconded by Sally Sutton to approve the request
based on the Findings of Fact.
Jack Higgins began the deliberation
explaining that he thought the property is sufficiently wide and that
alternatives were available.
Sally Sutton did not think any of
the criteria were being met. She did not
think conformity would be burdensome.
The property is not unique and the problem is self created.
Tim Lichtenwald thought another
solution could meet the needs of the petitioners. The approval would do justice and the
property is unique due to the placement of the house in the middle of the
lot. However, he thought the problem is
self-created.
Roy Green also thought there were
options and that the mixture of garage types in the neighborhood was an
important factor.
Woody Pelton thought there were
alternatives and the lot is quite ordinary.
Vote on the motion:
YEAS:
None
NAYS:
Green, Higgins, Lichtenwald, Pelton, Sutton
The variance was denied.
4. Public comments before the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
The Morley’s addressed the Board stating they
thought aesthetics should be made part of the Board’s decisions.
5. Old/New Business.
The secretary reported on the Zoning Ordinance update process. A review of anticipated key dates in the
process was provided.
A Spring Planning Commission workshop is being scheduled. The date being looked at is April 26th
and the ZBA is invited. The agenda will
be primarily a review of the importation changes to the Zoning Ordinance
Sally Sutton and Woody Pelton have terms expiring. Both indicated they would be interested in
reappointment. The secretary will inform
the
Upcoming Michigan Society of Planning training workshops were
discussed. Any Board members interested
in attending were advised to contact the Planning Department.
The annual Michigan Society of Planning statewide conference is scheduled
for October 15-18 in
Jack Higgins will not be at the March meeting.
6. ADJOURN.
The meeting
adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Ostgarden, AICP, CFM