Variance Application No - Upper Arlington

Variance Application BZ-05-13
Board of Zoning and Planning
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I. Request/Code Requirements:
This variance application requests permission to construct an addition and attached
garage which would encroach 4’-10” into the ten-foot rear yard setback and 6’-6” into the rear
yard profile coefficient. Therefore, two variances to Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)
Article 5.02(C) have been requested.
*For corner lots in Upper Arlington, the rear yard is defined as being opposite the
narrower of the two street frontages. Given that the subject property, 1922 Arlington Avenue,
has 150 feet of frontage along each Arlington Avenue and Stanford Road, it can be argued that
the proposal encroaches into the ten-foot side yard setback only- and not the rear yard and rear
yard profile. Typically, Staff tries to rule in favor of the property owner in instances like these;
however, with the driveway and address being on Arlington Avenue, Staff felt that an
encroachment on the east side of the property into the rear yard made more sense than a side
yard.
Figure 1: Staff Photo of front elevation; and Figure 2: County Auditor’s Property Map
II.
Site Description/Proposal:
The subject property, 1922 Arlington Avenue, is located at the northeast corner of
Arlington Avenue and Stanford Road, where it has 150 feet of frontage along each. The 0.31-
acre property is zoned R-1c (One-Family Residence District) and contains building lines of 40
feet along Arlington Avenue and 35 feet along Stanford Road. The brick 3,127-square foot
Georgian Revival home was built in 1920, is a Contributing Historic Structure in the Historic
District, and is immediately north of the Miller Park round-about. The lot has 93 feet of depth
along the north property line and 80 feet along the east side, making for an irregularly shaped lot
(see Figure 2). A six-foot tall fence with evergreen landscaping on the inside aligns the east
property line, serving as a quality buffer from the most impacted neighbor.
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The proposal includes the removal of an existing attached garage and mudroom, and the
construction of a one-story 576-square foot attached garage, kitchen, mudroom, half bathroom
and dining room in its place. The addition measures 19 feet tall, much less than the 30-foot tall
house. The garage will be brick to match the house and the kitchen area to be wood siding,
painting to match the existing trim on the house in order to break up the visual mass of the
addition. The garage measures 24’ x 24’ with an 18-foot wide door and will be adjacent to a
five-foot wide utility easement. Overall, the garage would increase by 136 square feet and the
mudroom/storage area by 60 square feet.
Figure 3: Proposed north elevation
Figure 4: Proposed east elevation
The application states that, “The buildable area of this corner lot is extremely limited due
to the angle of Stanford Road to Arlington Avenue. The available space for expansion is further
limited by the drive location on the north side of the home. The extremely limited buildable area
is the unique circumstance that has led to this variance request.” It continues that, “The
character of the neighborhood will be enhanced by the addition. The fence and landscape along
the east property line will be maintained so there will be little change in the view from this
adjacent property.” Also, “The sizes of the proposed garage, kitchen and mudroom are not
excessive. The garage’s gable end faces Stanford Road, keeping the lower side wall along the
east property line, and the roof slope over the garage is not as steep as the house’s, helping to
reduce the impact along the same property line.” “A garage with doors facing Stanford Road
was explored and rejected because of its negative impact on the streetscape.”
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III.
Summary/Staff Recommendation:
Staff reviewed the application, visited the site, and agrees with the applicant that creating
a Stanford Road access with new garage would not be ideal for the neighborhood. Nor would
relocating the garage addition to the north side of the home, as this would take too much away
from the historic character of the home. Staff believes that what is proposed is a quality design
that would not take anything away from the handsome look and feel of the nearly 100-year old
home (Finding #8). The proposal is modest in size and area, and care has been taken to mitigate
views from adjoining properties. The existing landscaping and fencing along the east property
line and along Stanford Road will mitigate any negative impacts the addition may have (Finding
#4). The proposal essentially replaces an existing garage and mudroom with a more modern and
functional garage and mudroom, just slightly larger. Finally the proposal could instead be
considered an encroachment into the side yard setback, which eliminates the rear yard profile
variance request (Finding #1). For these reasons, Staff recommends that this variance
application be approved as submitted.
Attachments:
Variance Application BZ-05-13
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Figure 5: Bing® Maps bird’s eye photo looking north
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Figure 6: Looking west along Stanford Road via Google Street View ®
Figure 7: Existing rear yard area viewed from the driveway
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