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May 14, 2019 <br />Page 3 <br /> <br />The applicant is proposing to construct site modifications that will encroach into the front <br />and side setbacks, and exceed the maximum allowable impervious surface. The parcel in <br />question is shown on the zoning map below, and is 60 feet in width and approximately <br />9,285 square feet in area. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />A. Front Setback Variance. The homes adjacent to the subject parcel result in an <br />average setback of 35.9 feet for this parcel. The existing home on the property is <br />currently at 32.6 feet, encroaching by 3.3 feet into the required setback. The <br />applicants propose to construct front steps that would encroach an additional 7 feet <br />into the required front yard. The zoning ordinance includes an allowed <br />encroachment for stoops than may extend into a front yard by an additional five <br />feet. Thus, the measured encroachment for the proposed front yard variance would <br />be 5.3 feet. <br /> <br />The zoning ordinance sets out a series of criteria for a request to qualify for variance <br />consideration. Those criteria are found in §152.245, (C) Evidence of the Zoning <br />Chapter, and are included in this report for reference below. The criteria can be <br />summarized as whether there are unique conditions on the property that contribute <br />to creation of a practical difficulty in putting the property to what would otherwise <br />be considered a reasonable use – reasonable use is often thought of as one that <br />would be common and acceptable in the area. Variances may not be entirely <br />economic in nature, nor be the result of the actions of the applicant. <br /> <br />In this case, the applicants suggest that there are conditions that meet the required <br />criteria. First, the applicant’s home is setback 32.6 feet from the street – similar to, <br />or slightly more than, nearly every other home constructed along the block of Pahl <br />Avenue. Only the location of the single neighboring property to the east – a larger <br />parcel at the corner of Pahl and Wilson Street NE – includes a 39.8 foot setback, <br />which skews the subject property setback requirement significantly. <br />23