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April 11, 2017 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />Deadline for Agency Application Date: 02-17-17 <br />Action: 60 Days: 04-18-17 <br />Letter Sent: No <br /> 120 Days: NA <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED VARIANCE <br />1. Background <br />The applicant is proposing to construct 4.5-foot long by 10.66-foot wide entryway addition to front <br />side of their home, with an additional porch and steps extending beyond the entryway into the front <br />yard. The applicant indicates that the entryway is part of a larger home addition intended to add <br />living space to their home, which would provide extra room for their family. The home currently has <br />a front yard setback of thirty-five (35) feet. The proposed entryway would extend four-and-a-half <br />(4.5) feet into the property front yard, reducing the home’s setback dimension to thirty-and-a-half <br />(30.5) feet. <br />The minimum required setback in the R-1 District is 30 feet or the average setback dimension of the <br />two adjacent lots. All homes on the applicant’s block, including the two adjacent homes, have a <br />setback distance of 35 feet. The applicant’s proposed setback distance of 30.5 feet after entryway <br />construction will require a 4.5-foot variance in order to be compliant with the requirements of the <br />R-1 District. <br />It is common for the majority of homes on a St. Anthony block to share a similar setback distance. <br />However, in this neighborhood of St. Anthony, a 35-foot setback distance appears to be the <br />exception and not the rule. An examination of the blocks surrounding this property reveals that 30 <br />feet, the minimum front yard setback dimension in the R-1 District, is the standard for the majority <br />of homes. <br />A porch is “a structure projecting from and structurally attached to an exterior wall of a building, <br />covered by a roof and having a floor elevation not more than 3 feet above grade.” The porch <br />component of the proposed entryway, including the porch overhang, extends five (5) feet beyond <br />the edge of the home into the front yard, which is permissible under Section 152.177 which states <br />that steps, stoops, and porches may extend into a front yard not more than 5 feet. The steps extend <br />an additional 2 feet beyond the porch, which exceeds the encroachment maximum by 2 feet. Steps <br />are a necessary feature to reach the front door because of the lot grade and the way the home is <br />built. However, because steps are listed in the encroachment language of the code, a variance is <br />required to approach the steps configuration as proposed by the applicant. <br /> <br />2. Applicable Codes. <br />Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section 152.039 (E) Front yard apply to this proposal. <br />City Code Section 152.039 (E) states the front yard must have a depth equal to the greater of 30 feet <br />or a distance equal to the average of the front yard depths of the two adjacent lots. <br />Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.245 VARIANCES (A) Application states <br />that “An owner of property with an existing structure which does not comply with the zoning code, <br />or of property on which such a structure is proposed to be constructed, may apply for a variance <br />upon payment of the fee specified in Chapter 33”. <br />30