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Variance Board Meeting <br />Minutes – Wednesday, August 3, 2016 <br />3 <br />Page <br />friendly issues; but opined he would still be back far enough that he didn’t see his <br />99 <br />proposal interfering with any type of pedestrian issues. <br />100 <br />At the request of Member Daire, Mr. Lloyd confirmed that in Low Density <br />101 <br />Residential-1 zoning designations, the required setback from the front structure <br />102 <br />was 30’, and noted that was from the front property line that was 10’-15’from the <br />103 <br />street. <br />104 <br />Mr. Sampson thanked the Variance Board for providing him a chance to clarify his <br />105 <br />other variance request. Mr. Sampson noted he had been working on this proposal <br />106 <br />for a long time and expressed his hope that it could be made to happen. <br />107 <br />Public Hearing <br />108 <br />David Secker, 2996 Northview Street (across street from subject parcel) <br />109 <br />Mr. Secker advised that he had reviewed Mr. Sampson’s drawings; and provided <br />110 <br />this proposal doesn’t present any safety issues, stated that he was a proponent of <br />111 <br />the request. Mr. Secker stated he had no problem looking across his back yard <br />112 <br />with this proposal. <br />113 <br />Chair Murphy closed the Public Hearing at approximately 5:59 p.m. with no one <br />114 <br />appearing to speak for or against. <br />115 <br />Deliberation <br />116 <br />In his personal review of the staff report, Member Gitzen agreed with staff’s <br />117 <br />recommendation for the side yard variance, and further didn’t see any practical <br />118 <br />difficulty in allowing the requested 8’ extension either. Member Gitzen noted Mr. <br />119 <br />Sampson presented his case well, and based on the roof line of the house and <br />120 <br />sidewalk location, he agreed it was enough of a concern that he would suggest <br />121 <br />future discussion by the Board. <br />122 <br />Chair Murphy stated he had viewed the property earlier today, and noted the <br />123 <br />existing driveway would be challenging especially in the winter; and therefore he <br />124 <br />fully supported the side yard variance. Chair Murphy stated he could appreciate <br />125 <br />Mr. Sampson’s viewpoint in not going back further with the proposed garage; but <br />126 <br />noted city code had the 5’ setback provision for some time now. <br />127 <br />Member Daire agreed with his colleagues, noting this had prompted his earlier <br />128 <br />questions. Member Daire opined if the 8’ extension is not out of line with anything <br />129 <br />other than the city’s current design standards, the purpose of a variance in <br />130 <br />tailoring an application under these unique circumstances was met. Member Daire <br />131 <br />referenced Mr. Sampson’s arguments put forth regarding structural issues to <br />132 <br />consider in replacing the garage, and agreed with his analysis in trying to align the <br />133 <br />back of the garage and home. Member Daire also noted the typical need for <br />134 <br />working space in a garage in addition to vehicle storage, which he found <br />135 <br />important, and therefore his inclination was that the additional 3’ was appropriate <br />136 <br />in this case, inclining him to go along with the 8’ variance request, even though it <br />137 <br />put him in conflict with staff’s recommendation to deny that particular variance <br />138 <br />request. <br />139 <br />Chair Murphy clarified that, for him, he could appreciate Mr. Sampson’s square <br />140 <br />footage argument since this wasn’t new construction where he would be open to <br />141 <br />design a house on the log. However, given the shape of the existing home and <br />142 <br />sidewalk location, he was also inclined to support both variance requests. <br />143 <br />At the request of Member Daire, Mr. Sampson clarified that there would be an <br />144 <br />entrance from the garage into the house, displaying the sketch plan indicating <br />145 <br />location of that door on the northwest end of the house itself. <br />146 <br />Mr. Sampson further clarified that square footage was not an issue for him, but <br />147 <br />fitting the service door into the 8’ extension to get to the front yard. As explained <br />148 <br /> <br />