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Date Application Received: 02/21/2024 <br />Date Application Considered as Complete: 02/23/2024 <br />60-Day Review Period Expires: 04/23/2024 <br /> <br /> <br />To: Chair Bollis and Planning Commission Members <br /> Adam Edwards, City Administrator <br /> <br />From: Natalie Nye, Planner <br /> <br />Date: March 18, 2024 <br /> <br />Subject: #LA24-000012, Robert Breon, 2700 Casco Point Road, Variances - Public Hearing <br /> <br /> <br />Background <br />The applicant is proposing to demolish the existing home on the property and keep an existing two-story <br />detached garage. The existing detached garage is nonconforming as it relates to front yard and side yard <br />setbacks. The applicant is proposing to construct a new home that connects to the existing nonconforming <br />structure and requests variances from front and side yard setback requirements as the home will be 20 <br />feet from the front property line and 2.4 feet from the side property line. The new home will expand the <br />nonconformity as the structure will have an expanded second story above the existing garage space. The <br />applicant is proposing the enclose part of the second story above the garage and have a covered open <br />area patio over a large portion of the garage footprint. The Planning Commission should as the applicant <br />for additional testimony regarding the needs for covered outdoor living space in a nonconforming <br />location. <br /> <br />The subject property is nonconforming in lot width and lot size for the LR-1C zoning district and therefore <br />for the construction of a new home to take place on the property, variances from lot width and lot size are <br />also required and requested. The proposed project meets all other zoning criteria including hardcover and <br />building height. <br /> <br />Practical Difficulties Analysis <br />Applicant Submittal Information: The applicant has identified the property’s existing conditions as a <br />practical difficulty. The applicant originally intended on remodeling the existing home and garage, <br />however, the foundation on the existing home was beyond repair. The existing two-story detached garage <br />is in good condition and is proposed to remain. The applicant is proposing to construct a new home and <br />connect it to the existing accessory building. The existing detached garage is nonconforming as it does not <br />meet the 30-foot front yard setback or 7.5 side yard setback. The applicant states they have designed the <br />home to be stepped away from the front and side yard in order to minimize the expansion of the <br />nonconformity. <br /> <br />Planning Staff Practical Difficulty Analysis: Staff agrees with the applicant’s assessment. The property <br />contains an existing detached garage building that is nonconforming and permitted to remain. The <br />nonconforming building could also be rebuilt in kind per City Code. However, the applicant is choosing to <br />attach the accessory building to the new home and thus making it part of the primary structure and <br />subject to the required setbacks. Variances from front and side yard are required for the footprint of the <br />existing structure and for the vertical expansions of the second story within the setbacks. Staff also finds <br />that the small lot size and narrow lot poses practical difficulties. <br />Application Summary: The applicant is requesting variances for lot area, lot width, side yard setback and <br />front yard setback in order to construct a new home with a connection to an existing nonconforming <br />detached garage. <br />Staff Recommendation: Planning Department Staff recommends approval. <br />83