photo by Fritz Myer
“Dear PoPville,
I wanted to get the take of readers on their experience with the Board of Zoning Adjustment to seek an area variance for a rear yard setback. We are in a zone that requires a 20′ setback from the alley behind our house in a row of houses all with 16′ setbacks that were grandfathered in. Our house is further back than the rest of the houses in our row because it was rebuilt back in 1986 after it was destroyed sometime in 60s. Now all we want is to make our house flush with the rest by bumping out the back. However, the zoning ordinance says we can’t bump it out to be flush with the rest of the houses so we are seeking a variance. Furthermore, we may need to seek additional variance because according to the zoning ordinance our lot width is 17′ and is less than the requirement for a compact parking space which is 20′.
Basically, a lot of this zoning is about fitting a car on our back lot.
Here’s the irony (hopefully I’m using this word right) of requiring a space for a car. We don’t own one and haven’t for more than a decade, and don’t plan on getting one either. We are the only house owners in our row without a car. The cars fit fine on the smaller 16′ lots without a problem yet we have to have a larger lot but don’t have a car.
We also live in a historic neighborhood where they take great care to preserve the fronts of the houses and make sure we conform to our neighbors but aren’t allowed to conform to our neighbors’ lots in the back of the house.
Our architect sent us a list of what it takes to get a variance, including some costs and told us that it may take 6 months or more to get it. We are wondering if anyone knows if anyone out there has been successful getting a variance, was it is worth it, how much did it cost, and if there are some tips we can use to get the variance.”