The Board of Zoning Appeals met 10/21/2024. The one variance request they took up that evening was a request from the owner of a residential property on Stratford Lane to erect a 6-foot tall fence one foot from the edge of the front lot line.
The property was a trapezoidal shape instead of the more common rectangle. Additionally there were elevation issues on the lot, and the house was 3 feet higher than the sidewalk. Finally, the lot was a corner lot so by code it at two front yards even though only one of those functionally served as a front yard.
The Board of Zoning Appeals ended up granting them an amended variance that allowed them to install a 6 foot fence for much of the length of the lot line but did not extend that variance along as much of the lot line as they had initially requested. This was done so that the vision corner could be maintained.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
The meeting lasted around 40 minutes and the board thoroughly reviewed and discussed the matter, but the actual substance of the discussion was fairly straightforward.
The applicant wanted to install a higher fence for privacy purposes but could not do so because it was technically a front yard and the fence could be no higher than 3 feet. They did their homework fairly thoroughly and put together an application that pointed to another very similar variance request that had been granted. They also supplied pictures demonstrating that a 6 foot fence would not negatively impact the vision corner for drivers. Additionally, two of their neighbors contacted the board and told them they supported the higher fence. Finally, they pointed to the physical properties of their lot as a reason why they should be granted a variance. Those differences were it was oddly shaped, on a corner, smaller than some of the neighboring lots, and the house was abnormally higher than the sidewalk.
These items all convinced the board that a variance was warranted, but they did modify the variance require that the 6 foot portion of the fence be further back from the corner than the applicant had requested. This was done to maintain the vision corner for passing motorists.
Inspections Supervisor Kurt Craanen did state, “I want to get it on the record, every lot on this corner, all four of them, are an irregular shaped lot. So, if that’s the hardship, then every one of these houses would be eligible for a variance. I just want to get that on the record.”
Despite that mild objection, the board voted unanimously to grant the variance request.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1232018&GUID=B49E535C-5CD3-4B23-800A-9ACE9737C76E
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