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June 9, 2017 Page 2 CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE PROPOSED VARIANCE 1. Background The Applicant is requesting to construct an attached deck behind their home at 3204 Townview Avenue. The proposed deck is 14 feet by 14 feet in size. A deck is exempt from impervious surface calculations, but is subject to setback requirements. Currently, the applicant's home is set back 31 feet from their rear property line. The addition of a 14- foot deck would reduce their rear -yard setback to 17 feet. The minimum required setback in the R -1 district is 25 feet, or 20 percent of the lot depth, whichever is greater. The lot in question is 119 feet deep, so in this case a 25 -foot setback is the greater of the two and is therefore the qualifying rear yard setback distance. Because their proposed deck encroaches upon the 25 -foot rear yard setback dimension, the applicants are requesting an eight -foot variance to the 25 -foot setback requirement to allow their deck to be set back 17 feet from their rear property line instead. The applicants' lot, shown below outlined in blue, is notably shorter in depth that nearly all other lots on this block of Townview Avenue. The applicants' lot is 119 feet deep, while neighboring lots on the block appear to be between 134 and 137 feet deep. While the size and shape of the applicant's home does contribute to a smaller rear yard overall, their rear yard depth is also impacted considerably by the short length of their lot. Were the applicants' property to be the same length as either of their neighbor's, the proposed 14 -foot deck would have a rear yard setback closer to 35 feet and would therefore not trigger a variance request. s ` n t' 2. Applicable Codes. I II Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.039 DIMENSIONAL REGULATIONS (F) Rear yards in "R-1 Single Family District ". The rear yard must have a depth equal to the greater of 20% of the depth of the entire lot or 25 feet. Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.176 ACCESSORY BUILDINGS (C) Accessory buildings attached. If an accessory building is attached to the principal structure, it will be considered a part of the principal building and must comply with all setbacks and other requirements applicable to the principal building. 3. Criteria for and Consistency with Criteria for Variance Approval. Title XV Land Usage, Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.245, (C) Evidence, lists the criteria the City Council must consider in determining whether to grant or deny a variance. 1. The subject matter of the application is within the scope of this section.