Property Survey Site Plan, and elevation submitted by applicant E. Staff Report

CHAIRMAN SOULE – Asked if the applicant had any objections to the City’s exhibits

APPLICANTS – No objections

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CHAIRMAN SOULE – The City’s exhibits A – E will be included in this record. Asks for applicant representative to come forward and begin by stating name.

BK – Talks about home and the reason for requesting the variance. The garage is not a 2 car garage and they have bought smaller cars from when they lived in UCity and had a small garage there and now this is an even smaller garage. We currently sit 5’ into the 30’ rear yard setback so we are requesting to extend that ~2’ in order to have a functioning garage space and open our doors. We also need a 3” variance for the existing garage because it and the home do not quite line up and so it’s 3” over the side yard setback. I have included in your packet where our property sits on the map and our plans that we are hoping we can do. In the connection between the garage and the main house, the siding was poorly put up and so when we do this we would replace it with brick so that the architectural design and materials match. I understand there is some concern with natural light being blocked so we would like to address that.

SK – I would like to address any questions you have about the sunlight and there are two issues that are important to me to keep in mind. There is a 200 foot Pin Oak that our neighbors requested we remove. The other issue is the sunlight. I went to this website suncalc.org and it shows that the shadow doesn’t go over our fence and reach the neighbors yard. You can see specifically that there is never a shadow that goes into the neighbor’s yard. The shadow would be the worst in January and even then, it’s not impacting their area.

RICK BLISS – What is the full scope of the project?

BK – The basement is questionable. The ideal plan would be to have a basement under there but it’s dependent on a lot of factors. The basement would be under the kitchen though not the garage. The load it would have to bear if it was under the garage would be extremely costly.

RICK BLISS – If the foot print were to remain the same and they wanted to put an addition on top of it would that need a variance to be approved?

SUSAN ISTENES – Yes if they were to build on top of the current foot print, they would need a variance, yes. For the 3 inches on the side and the 5 feet in the rear.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – Is your lot irregular?

BK – We have an attached garage that is a hinderance.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – That has nothing to do with your lot. Do what you can to explain your request, I’ll give you all the time you want, is there something unique and different from your neighbor’s lot? That’s my question.

BK – No, I don’t think so.

SK – The attached garage is pretty far from the fence, most other homes have a detached garage right on the fence.

BK – No, I don’t think so. SK – The attached garage is pretty far from the fence, most other homes have a detached garage right on the fence.

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CHAIRMAN SOULE – Anything different about the topography of your lot from those of your neighbors or any other natural situations that have to do with your lot that makes it different from your neighbors?

BK – No.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – No, ok. Thank you I appreciate that. You all said on your application that the addition of a master bedroom would allow full functionality of the single-family home. Would you explain what that means?

BK – I work from home, full time and run a business out of a corner of my basement and so a 4th bedroom would make it a functioning home for us. That was always our intention because we are a family of 4, having four rooms would allow for an office space.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – Did you ever think to ask the City when you bought the home if you would be able to do this or any kind of permits you would need or any kind of issues that would prevent you from doing this?

BK – No, I wasn’t aware of a variance issue. As a design professional I am aware of the permitting process, however I didn’t realize there would be a required variance.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – So no, you didn’t.

MARY DEBENEDETTI - Have you thought of renovating your basement?

BK – Yes, we actually have already done that because there was mold actively growing when we moved in.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – On your appeal you say that the house would be comparable to the homes on the block that also have 3-4 bedrooms. Isn’t the size of your lot the same as the other homes on your street with exception of the corner lot?

BK – Yes.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – That’s also true in respect to Kingsbury with the exception of the corner lots, all those lots are essentially the same?

BK – Correct, but the challenge we face is the garage sitting in the 30’ setback and that makes it difficult to make our home larger whereas the neighbors are able to build into that area and we are not. I think what makes it look like the garage would be so close to the fence is the tree back there.

CHAIRMAN SOULE – What conversations did you have with your neighbors about this project?

BK – Our direct neighbors were aware, and I talked to Karen Gulick about two months ago at the beginning of the summer since they had applied for a variance recently and then over time I have