ZBA approves reduced front setbacks to allow four infill lots on West 36th Street

The Zoning Board of Adjustments unanimously approved variances to allow reduced front setbacks on a property at the corner of West 36th Street and Great Creek Road (case ZBA 25-21216) to enable subdivision into four residential lots.

Austin Reed, senior planner, told the board the property is in the Riverside neighborhood and is being subdivided into four lots in the city’s designated infill area. After working with the applicant to reduce the requested relief, staff recommended approval of setbacks that will be 19 feet, 21 feet and 15 feet in place of the standard 25-foot requirement for certain frontages. Reed said staff mailed 12 notices and had not received responses.

Engineer Erica Wilde of Wildey Engineering and Surveying spoke for the applicant and asked the board to approve the plan. Board members questioned driveway orientation and whether sidewalks would be required; staff said sidewalks are triggered by the subdivision ordinance when development is close to a school and that the city typically places sidewalks in the public right-of-way.

Board Member 6 requested corrections to measurement details in the minutes; staff said they would reflect the agreed setback numbers. A motion to approve as presented carried 6–0.

Staff later noted the case will inform ongoing work to revise double-frontage language in the land development and subdivision ordinance to reduce similar ZBA cases in the future.