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2917 County Rd H2 CUP & VR Request August 7, 2013 Page 2 The applicant wants to expand the existing garage by adding 10 feet to the rear for a workshop. The expansion would not change the appearance of the garage from the front. CUP Considerations: Chapter 1125 of the Zoning Code requires that the Planning Commission review and address any potential adverse effects of a conditional use that include, but are not limited to, the relationship with the Comprehensive Plan, geographical area involved, potential depreciation, the character of the surrounding area and the demonstrated need for such a use. Staff has addressed each of these potential adverse effects below. Relationship with the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan designates this property as low-density residential, as well as the surrounding area. The Comp Plan encourages the development and maintenance of residential areas to improve the quality, appearance and attractiveness of housing units and residential property in general. W ith this project, the applicant would be creating a garage workshop. The Geographical Area Involved. The applicant’s home is located on a large lot in a residential area on County Road H2. Depreciation. The proposed garage expansion would benefit the subject property both in a practical sense by providing additional indoor storage and workspace, as well as in an economic sense, as the addition would increase the “value” of the property. Increased property values are a benefit to everyone. The Character of the Surrounding Area. The applicant’s neighborhood is entirely single-family residential. The homes in this area are a variety of styles and ages, but the immediate area properties all have large lots. The garage expansion would be into the backyard and not change the look of the front of the garage. This is a larger property at 106 feet wide and 375 feet deep (0.89 acres), so the total accessory building coverage will only be about 5% of the backyard area. The expansion of 10 more feet to the rear of the existing garage will not be very noticeable. The adjacent property also has a 1,152 square foot oversize garage. The Demonstrated Need for Such a Use. The applicant is proposing to expand his existing garage into a 1,140 square foot garage by adding a 10 foot addition in the rear to create a workshop. Both the applicant and his wife have hobbies that require a lot of storage space. Variance Discusssion The applicant built the existing garage in 1993, and the 21 foot height met the Zoning Code at the time. The Code has since been amended and the maximum height for accessory buildings was changed to 18 feet. The applicant has requested a variance so the height of the expanded garage area can be the same as the existing garage, rather than the back 10 feet being a different height. The access to the second floor storage area is on the exterior rear of the garage, and the doorway would have to be much smaller if the roof was three feet shorter.