Board of Adjustment unanimously approves lot-area variance for Rockwell parcel with conditions

The Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to approve a variance that reduces the minimum lot area for Rockwell property ID 12091 from 2.5 acres to 2.088 acres, allowing applicant Sharon Donegan to convey the adjacent parcel.

Staff recommended approval. "Staff recommends full approval of the variance request as presented," the staff member told the board, summarizing the application and noting that the current shared property line runs through an existing accessory structure. Staff described the request as covering the SF 2.5 zoning district's area requirements, a category that staff said includes lot width, lot depth and coverage as well as minimum area.

The applicant, Sharon Donegan, introduced herself and described the site: "My house is about 50 years old," she said, noting the accessory building is a 20-by-30 metal structure on a concrete slab used by her son as a shop. Donegan told the board she had notified neighbors and that residents had no objections to the application.

Board members questioned whether the variance for area alone would implicitly change other dimensional requirements, especially minimum lot width and accessory-structure setbacks. The board referenced the SF 2.5 zoning table, which lists a 300-foot minimum lot width and a 25-foot side-yard setback for accessory structures. Staff advised that the variance request, as written, could be interpreted to encompass the table's components and recommended the board itemize any conditions it wanted applied.

To avoid ambiguity, staff read specific, survey-tied conditions into the record: the conveyed lot would have a proposed width of 113 feet instead of the 300-foot minimum; and the existing adjacent accessory structure would be 24.4 feet from the property line instead of the required 25 feet. "For the lot width, it's a 113 as proposed for the conveyed lot," staff stated, and added, "the existing condition of the adjacent accessory structure is 24.4 feet from the property line as proposed on the convey lot, instead of the minimum required 25 feet." The chair and several members indicated they were comfortable tying conditions to the numbers on the survey exhibit.

A board member moved to approve the variance with the itemized conditions and the motion was seconded. The board voted "aye" and the motion passed unanimously. The chair reminded the applicant that compliance with any conditions would be enforced through standard follow-up procedures; staff said failure to comply could result in stop-work status and further city enforcement.

The board's approval reduces the minimum lot area for the identified parcel to 2.088 acres and documents the lot-width and accessory-structure exceptions on the record. The applicant thanked the board after the vote.

What happens next: the variance is approved as recorded and any future construction or development on the conveyed lot will have to comply with the conditions the board tied to the survey numbers or seek additional variance relief if a different development approach is proposed.