Zoning board approves basement ceiling and doorway variance for Russell homeowners

The Sheboygan City Zoning Board of Appeals voted April 15, 2020, to approve a variance requested by David and Selena Russell to allow a basement recreation room at 3410 South 11th Street to have a ceiling height of 6 feet 2 inches where the city code requires 7 feet for habitable spaces.

The board’s north-side building inspector, Mike Cup, told the panel staff recommended approval and said the space is not configured as a sleeping room. “I’m not gonna view it as a safety concern for anything,” Cup said, noting the area is intended as a recreation or workout room rather than a bedroom. The applicant told the board the work was contracted more than a year earlier and that the contractor had initially indicated the plans would not pose permitting problems; the applicant said, “when it came to get the actual permits, they were like, you need to go in front of your board.” The applicant also described the intended, nonresidential use as: “Stick the teenagers downstairs, close the door. So you don’t hear ’em.”

Board members and staff discussed related doorway measurements and framing. Staff pointed to two doors and a stairwell shown on the plans that do not meet standard doorway heights; staff nonetheless recommended the variance because the space would remain a non-sleeping recreation room and the lower ceiling was judged not to pose a safety risk. The applicant told the panel there are no plans to create a basement bedroom or add egress windows.

A board member moved to approve the appeal as presented and a second was given. The board approved the motion by voice vote; the chair announced the request had passed and that the applicants may proceed with permitting. No roll-call vote or named tallies were recorded in the transcript.

The board noted a tentative next meeting date of May 20 and then adjourned.