Driveway variance approved with fees
The Board of Zoning Adjustment met Nov. 15 and approved a variance for a second driveway that was installed for a home on Mallow Lane without the required street frontage for an additional driveway.
The driveway was installed to provide access to a lower-level garage door. The homeowner, Joseph Klees, said he did not think to apply for a permit.
In addition to lacking a permit, the staff report put together by Community Development Services noted that the property only had 128 feet of street frontage, while municipal code requires 151 feet for a second driveway.
Aside from this, however, the driveway was within code requirements, including the required distance of 25 feet between it and adjacent driveway center lines.
Klees said that, when he purchased the home a little more than two years ago, there was a gravel drive in place leading to the lower-level garage door, so he thought it ideal to pave the driveway. He hired a contractor he knew and had the driveway built.
“It's done professionally,” Klees said. “The concrete's cut, there are expansion joints in it. The concrete's not gonna crack, ever. It's done really well.”
Jennifer Bonner, senior planner for Community Development Services, said that the plat for the property only shows one driveway, but photos taken in 2014 indicate the gravel drive was in place then. When it was installed, she said, could not be determined.
Linda Lloyd, vice chairwoman of the board, said that, as a real estate broker, she would think it reasonable to expect an access point for a second garage.
Lloyd said she didn't condone performing the construction without a permit, but she also believes not having the driveway would be a problem.
“If you're telling someone they can't put a driveway there, you're adversely affecting the marketability,” she said.
Board chairman Robert Walker said that while he could understand the need in this case, he is concerned about setting a precedent.
Chris Suneson, director of Community Development Services, said there is a portion of the code which prevents variances from being granted because of precedent.
Without this rule, Walker said, he would have voted against the request for a variance.
The board unanimously agreed to grant the variance, under the condition that Klees pay the necessary permit fees — which have been doubled because he did not get a permit before constructing the second driveway.
Klees had to pay a total of $150 for his construction permits, which would normally be $25 for the driveway and $50 for the retaining wall alongside it.
Additionally, he had to pay $125 for the Board of Zoning Adjustment application, and $7 for each piece of certified mail required to notify each adjacent property owner within 200 feet.
Bonner wrote in an email that in most situations between 25 and 60 people are notified.