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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Boards of Adjustment - Meeting Date: 5/14/1998 MEETING MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT GLENDALE COUNCIL CHAMBERS BUILDING CONFERENCE ROOM B-3 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1998 The regular meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. by the Chairperson Capek, with the following members and representatives present: BOARD MEMBERS: Kathe Neyer Robert Koehler John Rotz Ron Capek, Chairperson Bryan Clark ABSENT: Gordon Cheniae Phil Coningford CITY STAFF: Ray Jacobs, Zoning Administrator Rick Flaaen, Deputy City Attorney Ricardo Toris, Planner Nan Robinson, Recording Secretary Chairperson Capek began the meeting by explaining that the Board of Adjustment is a quasi- judicial body made up of volunteers appointed by the City Council. The Board hears request for relief from the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance and appeals to certain decisions made by the Planning Director. The Board considers each request on its own merits and bases its decision on the findings required by the Zoning Ordinance. The Board's decision is final unless appealed to the City Council or through Superior Court. Mr. Jacobs, Zoning Administrator, introduced members of the staff who were present. Boardmember Rotz made a MOTION to approve the April 9, 1998, minutes. Boardmember Koehler SECONDED the MOTION which passed with unanimously. Chairperson Capek called for Business From the Floor. There was none. Chairperson Capek asked staff if there were any requests for withdrawals or continuances. There were none. May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 2 Chairperson Capek stated that the purpose of a public hearing is to provide interested parties the opportunity to present testimony for the Board's consideration. An affirmative vote of four Board members is required to pass a motion. Chairperson Capek then explained the Board's hearing process. Chairperson Capek called for the first item on the agenda. 1.. ZV-98-08: A request by Kevin Marshall on behalf of Dale Palmer for a variance to: 1) increase the Maximum Lot Coverage from 10% to 15%; 2) reduce the required side yard setback from 50-feet to 26-feet; and 3) reduce the required front yard setback from 75-feet to 45-feet, for construction of a new house, in the A-1 (Agricultural) zoning District. The property is located at 6328 W. Surrey Avenue. Mr. Ricardo Toris presented the application, reviewing the request and the site. He concluded his presentation by stating that staff felt the request meets findings 1 - 4. He asked if the Board had any questions. Boardmember Rotz commented that he felt the required front setback would be out of character. Mr. Toris clarified by stating that the current required setback of 75 feet would be out of character. He said the proposed setback of 45 feet would be in character with the surrounding area. Boardmember Rotz asked Mr. Toris to address the concerns in the letters the Board received regarding the fence. Mr. Toris explained that this variance request dealt with three issues: the front yard setback, the side yard setback, and the lot coverage. He said the fence was not an issue in this request. Boardmember Clark said they had received a letter from one of the neighbors who was concerned with that fence and he would like more information on it. Mr. Toris responded that he had spoken with the applicant and also the person who wrote the letter, and the person who wrote the letter is now comfortable with the proposed fence location. In addition, the person who wrote the letter was present at the meeting and would be speaking. Boardmember Clark said the applicant was asking for 15% and the currently calculated value was 14.93%. He said in the past they have had a buffer on the percentage. Mr. Toris said the proposed envelope was the maximum, and it may be less than 14.9%. The applicant's representative, Mr. Thom Khaler, 634 East Boca Raton Road, Phoenix, Arizona, 85022, stated that he was representing the Marshalls because they are out of town. He explained that due to concern from the neighbors about the fence, the Marshalls have decided to put the fence back, flush against the house. He said regarding the letter from the Molinas, he agreed with everything they said. He said the Marshall's will be enhancing the area with the home they will be May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 3 building. He said the Marshalls agreed with all of the findings, and asked if the Board had any questions of him. There were no questions. Martin Shapiro, 6340 West Surrey Avenue, Glendale, spoke in support of this application. He said he was the homeowner directly to the west of the site. He said eleven neighbors all had a get-together to meet the Marshalls and welcome them to the neighborhood. He said he was informed of their plans and was assured it would fit into the character of the neighborhood. He said he had no problem with the 15% lot coverage, and no problem with the side setback. He did have a concern about the front setback and requested it be in line with the other homes nearby to maintain the character of the neighborhood. He also said he hoped that the fence would be chainlink and not block to provide air flow and a country look. He also said he would prefer no horses be grazing in the front. Chairperson Capek asked what Mr. Shapiro's front yard setback was. Mr. Shapiro said he thought it was 45' to 47'. Chairperson Capek said the setback was measured from the property pins. Mr. Shapiro said there were no property pins, he would just ask that the property be measured so it would be in character with the other houses. Chairperson Capek asked Mr. Toris to put a straight edge against the map shown on the overhead to line up the houses on Mr. Shapiro's side of the street. The houses almost lined up, and Mr. Shapiro asked that the Marshall's house be lined up as well. Chairperson Capek asked Mr. Toris to put a straight edge against the map shown on the overhead, only this time show the houses across the street from Mr. Shapiro's. The front setbacks on those houses were extremely varied, none of the houses lined up. Ms. Hedy Dunford, 6315 West Pershing, Glendale, said she has two acres on the corner of 63rd Avenue and Pershing. She spoke in support of this application, saying that when the Marshalls came to her and her husband asking about property for animals, she mentioned this parcel because she knew that it had been a.real eyesore. She said the Marshall's first question was what the neighbors were like. She said the Marshalls aim to please and she wanted to welcome them. She felt sure that their house would be the nicest one on the street. Mr. Robert Ferro, 6327 West Surrey Avenue, Glendale, spoke in support of this application, and said he had written a letter and was there to see if the Board had any questions regarding his letter. He wanted to be sure that the fence was set back so there would be no pasture in the front. There were no questions from the Board. May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 4 Mr. Thom Khaler made his closing statement by saying the Marshalls would be very happy with what the neighbors had said. He assured the neighbors that the fence would be put flush to the front of the house. He said whatever the Board deemed as proper for the front yard setback is what will be done. He said the house will be very nice. Mr. Toris re-stated the variance request for the record. He clarified how things are measured, and showed the platted lots. He showed the edge of the right-of-way, and explained that the front setback is measured from the edge of the property line. Boardmember Rotz clarified that if the Board approved a 45' front yard setback for this parcel and all the other houses had 50', then they could go back to 50', but not forward. Mr. Toris said that was correct. Chairperson Capek closed the public hearing on ZV-98-08. BOARDMEMBER CLARK MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE ZV-98-08. BOARDMEMBER NEPER SECONDED THE MOTION. Boardmember Rotz said he supported this request and said he was just trying to right an inequity. Boardmember Koehler said he felt the four findings had been met, and said the applicant had modified the request to make the neighbors happy, so he supported it. Boardmember Clark said he agreed and supported the application. Boardmember Neyer said it was obvious that there was a problem in the area because the Board had granted numerous variances to people. She said she supported this request. Chairperson Capek has no comment, and called for a roll call vote. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 2.. ZV-98-09: A request by Los Vecinos Housing Development, Inc., for a variance to reduce the required perimeter setback for side yards to 7-feet and 8-feet where 20 feet is the minimum allowed in the R-3 (Multiple Residence) Zoning District. This is to allow for an addition to an existing single family residence. The property is located at 6743 N. 63rd Avenue. Mr. Ricardo Toris presented the application and reviewed the site and the request. He concluded his presentation by stating that staff felt the request met findings 1-4. He asked if the Board had any questions. Boardmember Koehler said he looked at the property. He commented that Mr. Toris had stated the lot to the north was vacant; yet when he saw the property, there appeared to be a house May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 5 sitting way back on the lot. He said he did not see any ingress or egress to those houses in the back. He asked what impact the approval of this request would have on those adjacent properties. Mr. Torts responded that there is a house behind the house at 6743 North 63rd Avenue. He explained that there is an entry drive on the north of this lot which is not part of this property. He said the other properties are accessed off of 63rd Avenue. He said access should not be an issue to the properties to the north or south. Boardmember Koehler asked if there was any intent to extend Lamar Road east in this area. Mr. Torts responded that he did not know, that perhaps Traffic Engineering could answer that question. Mr. Jacobs said he knew of no plans to extend Lamar Road. Chairperson Capek said this was an unusual case where they divided the property in half, and in order to sell the property behind, they deeded 10' as an access road. He explained that the person in the back owns the 10' piece that now has an access road on it. He asked for clarification on item#3 in the report, which stated the proposed addition would have an area of 1,400 square feet including the carport. He said he came up with 1,663 square feet total, including the carport. Boardmember Rotz said he would want to give the correct variance. Mr. Toris responded that the request is for the side yard setbacks, not for the lot coverage, but that Chairperson Capek's figure was actually correct. Chairperson Capek asked if there was ever a reason given as to why they had not previously built on the slab. Mr. Toris responded that had never been addressed. Boardmember Rotz asked when the house was built. He commented that the subdivision was platted in 1908. He asked if there was any historical value. Boardmember Koehler said it cannot be recognized as historic unless it is registered in the National Register of Historic Places, and it would need to go through the application and approval process. Chairperson Capek commented that it was an interesting parcel which was a legal non-conforming use. He said perhaps it was long and narrow because it had to give away 10 feet on the north portion to the lot in the back, which would have made it more restrictive. Mr. Toris responded that he did not know when the house was built. May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 6 The applicant, Mr. Mike Fitz, Executive Director of Los Vecinos Housing Development gave a background on Los Vecinos. He said they operate two programs: one is a program in which they work with families whose homes are too far gone to be rehabilitated, so they demolish the existing structure and build a new home on the same site; and the second program is the acquisition and rehab program, which this one was. He said they acquired this property with the idea to rehab and sell it to a low-income family. He explained that this particular neighborhood has deteriorated and his organization has identified this as an area they want to concentrate on. He said it was an integral part of their goal to revitalize this neighborhood. He commented that they had recently purchased two homes across the street from this one which they also plan to rehab. He asked if the Board had any questions. Boardmember Rotz asked how old this house is. Mr. Fitz said it is 70 years old. He said they had representatives from the State Historical Preservation Society come out and look at it, and they said it was not a historic site. Chairperson Capek asked if the 10' portion to the north which is now a driveway was originally part of this parcel. Mr. Fitz responded that he did not know. Mr. Torts noted that the applicant's letter stated 1,400 square feet and it did not mention the carport. He said item #3 in the report should have read ..."1,400 square feet excluding the carport"... Chairperson Capek said the way the application was drawn, it appeared the back of the new addition was 8 feet. Mr. Toris said the variance request was for an 8-foot side yard setback along the north property line. As there were no speakers, Chairperson Capek closed the public hearing on ZV-98-09. BOARDMEMBER ROTZ MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE ZV-98-09. BOARDMEMBER NEYER SECONDED THE MOTION. Boardmember Neyer said she agreed with staff that this application met the four findings. She said she was happy to see this organization working so hard in this area. Boardmember Clark said he thought it was a great proposal, he felt the four findings were met, and he hoped the applicant did not find the process too onerous for this type of project. Boardmember Koehler said he agreed with the comments by the other Board members and supported the application. May 14, 1998 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES Page 7 Boardmember Rotz said he supported the application. Chairperson Capek had no comments, and called for a roll call vote. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairperson Capek asked if there was any Other Business. There was none. Chairperson Capek asked for the Planning Staff Report. Mr. Jacobs mentioned that there are several cases for next month's meeting. He noted that June will be the last meeting for several Board members. Chairperson Capek asked for Board Comments and Suggestions. Boardmember Clark said he had a discussion with the Mayor, who had appointed him to this position two years ago. He informed her he was unable to commit to a better attendance record, so he asked that he not be considered for re-appointment. So, he said his last meeting will be in June also. Chairperson Capek asked if all of the Boardmembers had received an invitation to the Boards and Commission appreciation dinner on May 28, 1998. Boardmember Koehler said he will be flying back east on May 23, and will be back on June 9th, so he will be here for the June meeting. There was no further business. Boardmember Rotz made a MOTION to adjourn. Boardmember Koehler SECONDED the MOTION which passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. rjarz Nan Robinson, Recording Secretary