The Board of Zoning Appeals is meeting 06/17/2024 at 7PM.
They will be taking up variance requests for two properties.
The first two variances are for a property on Leminwah Street. The property owner wants to build an attached garage closer to the side lot line than the minimum 6-foot setback required by the city code. On one application the hardship listed as the reason for why a variance should be granted is My patients may not survive a life threatening diagnosis that could have been prevented if I had arrived to the hospital sooner and didn’t have to dry off.” On the other application, the applicant lists the hardship that would result if the variance were not granted as being, “A patient may suffer a life-threatening condition or event die. Every second can count. The plan is to get to the hospital asap when my beeper goes off. This means grabbing my scrubs and driving, without having to get wet and brush snow off my vehicle in the middle of the night.”
There are two variance requests, one that asks to build the garage 3 feet from the side lot line and one that asks it to built 1.5 feet from the side lot line.
Per the staff report from Inspections Supervisor Kurt Craanen, “The applicant currently has a two hundred (200) sq. ft. garage and has the option to build a new, code compliant, detached garage in the rear yard of this property.” He concludes his report by recommending denial, stating, “this proposed addition would remain, after the current applicant sells the house in the future. Also, the review criteria in the Zoning ordinance, as well as cited case law, requires that a hardship relating to the unique physical limitations of the property be identified. Variances should not be granted based on the preferences of the current occupant.”
This variance request had originally been placed on the agenda for the 05/20/2024 Board of Zoning Appeals meetings but was held until this meeting at the applicant’s request; however, one resident in the neighborhood did attend that meeting and voice concerns over this variance request.
The second two variance requests are for a property on the corner of Badger Avenue and Linwood Drive. It is a legally non-conforming corner lot. The owner would like to construct a detached garage 5 feet from the property line. Because of the lot’s configuration, all of the yard is considered a front yard, and the Zoning Ordinance prohibits accessory buildings in the front yard. Additionally, the proposed garage would be located 5 feet from the lot line, but the Zoning Ordinance requires a 20-foot front yard setback.
Not listed on the agenda, but noted in the application, the owner would also like to get a variance to build a carport over the existing driveway, but he’s not sure if he needs a variance for that or not.
In his staff report, Inspections Supervisor Craanen recommends against approving the variances because “the hardship is self-created. The property has functioned with the current configuration for decades. Also, the owner has a code compliant alternative with the existing condition of the property.”
[I’m a little confused by that recommendation, because, as far as I can tell there is not an existing garage on this property. I’m curious what the code compliant garage configuration would be because the lot is small and on a corner, and it’s not readily apparent to me where a garage could be placed so that it met the zoning ordinance.]
As a point of interest, this is not the first time this property owner has sought a variance to facilitate the building of a garage. The last time he wanted to install a detached, single-car garage in a different location on his property. The board ended up voting that down out of concern for visibility/safety issues caused by a tall fence on his property. At the time, they had discussed the possibility of installing a garage in the configuration he is currently proposing and requesting a variance for as a way to avoid some of those safety issues, but city staff is still recommending denial.
View full meeting details here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1204778&GUID=B0D1EE84-BC99-4001-8A29-149A969D93A6
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