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Haga Variance Report April 21, 2010 Page 2 The property at 5046 Eastwood Road is a corner lot, which is not in itself unique; however, the applicant seeks permission to have a 6-foot tall fence for the purpose of privacy and screening from busy County Road H. This property is 75 feet x 132 feet (0.23 acres – 9,900 square feet) which is a smaller parcel, particularly for a corner lot. The city code now requires corner lots to be a minimum of 12,500 square feet. This property also has larger front setbacks – the Eastwood side is 55 feet, and the County Road H side is 46 feet. The smaller lot size and large setbacks along with the property having a detached garage, greatly reduces the amount of available backyard space. b. The literal interpretation of the provisions of this Title would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this Title. No fence greater than four (4) feet in height can be located in any front yard area within the City. The applicant, owning a corner lot, is at a disadvantage to improve the property as other homeowners might because the property has two front yards. c. That the special conditions or circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. The applicant cannot control the fact that his property is a corner lot with two front setbacks. d. That granting the variance requested would not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this Title to owners of other lands, structures or buildings in the same district. Granting the variance would not confer upon the property owner a special privilege in that most property owners do not have to work with these setback constraints. In addition, every property owner has the right to apply for a variance to improve the function and livability of their property. Finally, the City has approved similar variances for taller fences in front yard areas of corner lots. e. That the variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the hardship. Economic conditions alone shall not be considered a hardship. The applicant has a smaller lot and because of the large required setback on two sides of the property, along with having a detached garage, the available yard area is very limited. To locate the fence any closer to the home would result in lost yard area. f. The variance would not be materially detrimental to the purpose of this Title or to other property in the same zone. Approval of the variance in this case would not be materially detrimental to the Code or to other property in the area. This fence should not impact sight lines for vehicles coming from Eastwood Road and turning onto County Road H.