Narrative

City of Glendale — Regular Meeting (2021-06-10)

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Hayes  Project  Narrative:VAR21-02   
  
The  desire  of  this  variance  proposal  is  to  give  the  homeowners  the  opportunity  to  add  a  garage  to 
their  existing  residence.  Unfortunately,  due  to  the  existing  zoning  on  the  property,  the  homeowners 
cannot  make  this  addition,  based  on  their  existing  building  envelope.   
  
Mike  and  Rene  have  been  contacting  the  City  of  Glendale  for  the  past  few  years,  trying  to  find  a 
way  to  build  on  to  their  existing  house  and  add  a  garage.  Their  current  house  does  not  have  an 
attached  garage,  so  the  addition  of  this  garage  would  simply  allow  them  to  have  a  typical 
residence  with  an  attached  garage,  something  that  most  homeowners  have.  
  
  
Unfortunately,  the  existing  neighborhood  has  been  zoned  as  A-1.  The  A-1  zoning  states  that  the 
residence  should  be  a  minimum  of  40  acres;  however,  the  site  is  only  0.84  acres.  Due  to  the 
current  zoning,  the  setbacks  that  are  being  imposed  on  the  property  are  setbacks  that  were 
intended  for  lots  40  times  the  size  of  this  one.  Originally,  the  property’s  building  setbacks  were  75’ 
for  the  front,  50’  for  the  sides,  and  50’  for  the  rear  setback.  As  a  result,  when  these  setbacks  are 
imposed  on  the  existing  0.84  acre  property,  that  leaves  a  45’  x  102’  potential  buildable  area,  which 
is  less  than  13  percent  of  the  total  property  to  potentially  build  upon.  In  2007,  the  previous 
homeowners  at  the  time  received  a  variance  which  reduced  the  east  side  setback  from  50’  to 
20’(VAR07-02).  As  a  result,  the  new  potential  buildable  area  became  75’  x  102’,  which  is  20 
percent  of  the  total  property  area.  While  the  previous  variance  alleviated  some  of  the  existing 
hardships  caused  by  the  restrictive  setbacks,  the  homeowners  hope  to  reduce  the  west  side  setback 
as  well,  from  50’  to  15’.  Additionally,  this  variance  aims  to  reduce  the  existing  rear  setback  from 
50’  to  30’,  which  would  bring  the  existing   non  conforming  residence  into  conformance.  The 
proposed  side  setback  reduction  from  50’  to  15’  was  calculated  based  on  setbacks  for  similar 
properties  in  nearby  districts.  Properties  zoned  as  SR-17  and  SR-30  with  similar  lot  sizes  have 
side  setbacks  between  15’  and  20’.  As  a  result,  we  hope  through  this  variance,  we  can  establish 
setbacks  that  are  more  relevant  to  the  site’s  size  and  use.  These  restrictive  setbacks  are  imposed  on 
most  properties  in  this  area,  making  it  a  requirement  for  almost  everyone  to  get  a  variance  because 
of  this  zoning  discrepancy.   
  
These  existing  setbacks  are  not  self  imposed,  and  have  been  enforced  onto  this  site  for  many  years. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  for  years,  the  people  in  this  neighborhood  have  not  been  given  the 
opportunity  to  make  adjustments  and  changes  to  their  residence  in  a  simple  manner,  but  instead 
have  to  begin  their  process  through  filing  a  variance  to  make  their  house  conform  to  the  existing 
zoning  issues.  These  setback  issues  create  a  hardship  for  each  property  owner  in  this 
neighborhood,  since  the  lots  are  not  zoned  for  the  property’s  respective  size.  
  
  
In  order  to  alleviate  these  hardships,  we  hope  to  receive  a  variance  to  minimize  the  current 
building  setbacks.  This  would  allow  the  property  owner  to  add  an  attached  garage  to  the  existing 
VAR21-02
Hayes Variance
05/10/2021

residence.  The  proposed  design  is  for  a  four  car  garage  that  will  be  attached  to  the  existing 
residence.  The  exterior  has  been  designed  to  mimic  the  existing  house  proportions  and  style  to 
blend  in  with  the  current  neighborhood  and  site  conditions.  As  a  result,  the  proposed  building 
height  will  be  26’  at  the  highest  peak,  and  the  proposed  size  is  1,626  square  feet.  Additionally, 
this  variance  would  allow  the  existing  residence  to  no  longer  be  classified  as  a  non  conforming 
structure.