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Variance Application No - Upper Arlington

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<strong>Variance</strong> <strong>Application</strong> BZ-05-13<br />

Board of Zoning and Planning<br />

Tuesday, February 19, 2013<br />

I. Request/Code Requirements:<br />

This variance application requests permission to construct an addition and attached<br />

garage which would encroach 4’-10” into the ten-foot rear yard setback and 6’-6” into the rear<br />

yard profile coefficient. Therefore, two variances to Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)<br />

Article 5.02(C) have been requested.<br />

*For corner lots in <strong>Upper</strong> <strong>Arlington</strong>, the rear yard is defined as being opposite the<br />

narrower of the two street frontages. Given that the subject property, 1922 <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue,<br />

has 150 feet of frontage along each <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue and Stanford Road, it can be argued that<br />

the proposal encroaches into the ten-foot side yard setback only- and not the rear yard and rear<br />

yard profile. Typically, Staff tries to rule in favor of the property owner in instances like these;<br />

however, with the driveway and address being on <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue, Staff felt that an<br />

encroachment on the east side of the property into the rear yard made more sense than a side<br />

yard.<br />

Figure 1: Staff Photo of front elevation; and Figure 2: County Auditor’s Property Map<br />

II.<br />

Site Description/Proposal:<br />

The subject property, 1922 <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue, is located at the northeast corner of<br />

<strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue and Stanford Road, where it has 150 feet of frontage along each. The 0.31-<br />

acre property is zoned R-1c (One-Family Residence District) and contains building lines of 40<br />

feet along <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue and 35 feet along Stanford Road. The brick 3,127-square foot<br />

Georgian Revival home was built in 1920, is a Contributing Historic Structure in the Historic<br />

District, and is immediately north of the Miller Park round-about. The lot has 93 feet of depth<br />

along the north property line and 80 feet along the east side, making for an irregularly shaped lot<br />

(see Figure 2). A six-foot tall fence with evergreen landscaping on the inside aligns the east<br />

property line, serving as a quality buffer from the most impacted neighbor.<br />

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The proposal includes the removal of an existing attached garage and mudroom, and the<br />

construction of a one-story 576-square foot attached garage, kitchen, mudroom, half bathroom<br />

and dining room in its place. The addition measures 19 feet tall, much less than the 30-foot tall<br />

house. The garage will be brick to match the house and the kitchen area to be wood siding,<br />

painting to match the existing trim on the house in order to break up the visual mass of the<br />

addition. The garage measures 24’ x 24’ with an 18-foot wide door and will be adjacent to a<br />

five-foot wide utility easement. Overall, the garage would increase by 136 square feet and the<br />

mudroom/storage area by 60 square feet.<br />

Figure 3: Proposed north elevation<br />

Figure 4: Proposed east elevation<br />

The application states that, “The buildable area of this corner lot is extremely limited due<br />

to the angle of Stanford Road to <strong>Arlington</strong> Avenue. The available space for expansion is further<br />

limited by the drive location on the north side of the home. The extremely limited buildable area<br />

is the unique circumstance that has led to this variance request.” It continues that, “The<br />

character of the neighborhood will be enhanced by the addition. The fence and landscape along<br />

the east property line will be maintained so there will be little change in the view from this<br />

adjacent property.” Also, “The sizes of the proposed garage, kitchen and mudroom are not<br />

excessive. The garage’s gable end faces Stanford Road, keeping the lower side wall along the<br />

east property line, and the roof slope over the garage is not as steep as the house’s, helping to<br />

reduce the impact along the same property line.” “A garage with doors facing Stanford Road<br />

was explored and rejected because of its negative impact on the streetscape.”<br />

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III.<br />

Summary/Staff Recommendation:<br />

Staff reviewed the application, visited the site, and agrees with the applicant that creating<br />

a Stanford Road access with new garage would not be ideal for the neighborhood. <strong>No</strong>r would<br />

relocating the garage addition to the north side of the home, as this would take too much away<br />

from the historic character of the home. Staff believes that what is proposed is a quality design<br />

that would not take anything away from the handsome look and feel of the nearly 100-year old<br />

home (Finding #8). The proposal is modest in size and area, and care has been taken to mitigate<br />

views from adjoining properties. The existing landscaping and fencing along the east property<br />

line and along Stanford Road will mitigate any negative impacts the addition may have (Finding<br />

#4). The proposal essentially replaces an existing garage and mudroom with a more modern and<br />

functional garage and mudroom, just slightly larger. Finally the proposal could instead be<br />

considered an encroachment into the side yard setback, which eliminates the rear yard profile<br />

variance request (Finding #1). For these reasons, Staff recommends that this variance<br />

application be approved as submitted.<br />

Attachments:<br />

<strong>Variance</strong> <strong>Application</strong> BZ-05-13<br />

:jam<br />

Figure 5: Bing® Maps bird’s eye photo looking north<br />

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Figure 6: Looking west along Stanford Road via Google Street View ®<br />

Figure 7: Existing rear yard area viewed from the driveway<br />

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