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February 23, 2017 Page 2 Letter Sent: No 120 Days: 06-17-17 CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED VARIANCE 1. Background The applicant is proposing to construct 4.5-foot long by 10.66-foot wide entryway addition to front side of their home, with an additional porch and steps extending beyond the entryway into the front yard. The applicant indicates that the entryway is part of a larger home addition intended to add living space to their home, which would provide extra room for their family. The home currently has a front yard setback of thirty-five (35) feet. The proposed entryway would extend four-and-a-half (4.5) feet into the property front yard, reducing the home’s setback dimension to thirty-and-a-half (30.5) feet. The minimum required setback in the R-1 District is 30 feet or the average setback dimension of the two adjacent lots. All homes on the applicant’s block, including the two adjacent homes, have a setback distance of 35 feet. The applicant’s proposed setback distance of 30.5 feet after entryway construction will require a 4.5-foot variance in order to be compliant with the requirements of the R-1 District. It is common for the majority of homes on a St. Anthony block to share a similar setback distance. However, in this neighborhood of St. Anthony, a 35-foot setback distance appears to be the exception and not the rule. An examination of the blocks surrounding this property reveals that 30 feet, the minimum front yard setback dimension in the R-1 District, is the standard for the majority of homes. A porch is “a structure projecting from and structurally attached to an exterior wall of a building, covered by a roof and having a floor elevation not more than 3 feet above grade.” The porch component of the proposed entryway, including the porch overhang, extends five (5) feet beyond the edge of the home into the front yard, which is permissible under Section 152.177 which states that steps, stoops, and porches may extend into a front yard not more than 5 feet. The steps extend an additional 2 feet beyond the porch, which exceeds the encroachment maximum by 2 feet. Steps are a necessary feature to reach the front door because of the lot grade and the way the home is built. However, because steps are listed in the encroachment language of the code, a variance is required to approach the steps configuration as proposed by the applicant. 2. Applicable Codes. Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section 152.039 (E) Front yard apply to this proposal. City Code Section 152.039 (E) states the front yard must have a depth equal to the greater of 30 feet or a distance equal to the average of the front yard depths of the two adjacent lots. Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.245 VARIANCES (A) Application states that “An owner of property with an existing structure which does not comply with the zoning code, or of property on which such a structure is proposed to be constructed, may apply for a variance upon payment of the fee specified in Chapter 33”. Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.177 ENCROACHMENT IN YARDS (D) states that “Steps, stoops, and porches which extend into a front yard not more than 5 feet;” are permitted encroachments in yards. 12