BZA denies two homeowners’ cases

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The Board of Zoning Adjustments denied two homeowners’ variance requests and carried over a variance request on Oak Grove Road at its May 2 meeting.

The first request denied was from John Cassimus, who owns 3017 Roxbury Road. He is planning to tear down the current home and build a two-story house with an 1,800-square-foot footprint, plus a garage.

He requested a 9-foot setback variance for the side fronting Huntington Road, noting that the county easement for a sewer line behind his home limited the building area. The current home on the property already has a setback variance, he said.

However, BZA member Ty Cole recommended Cassimus move the garage back so less of it would need a variance. The BZA also had concerns over whether his fireplace, which would project from the side of the house, would need a variance as well.

BZA members Joy Beth Smith, Stuart Roberts and Chairman Brian Jarmon voted for the variance, while Cole and Vice Chairman Beverly LeBoeuf voted against it. Matthew Foley and Andrew Marlin were absent.

The BZA requires approval of at least four members to grant a variance, so the request was denied.

The owners of 312 Woodland Drive were also denied for 4-foot setback variances on the rear and left side of the property, which they were requesting to build a two-story garage. BZA members were concerned about the overall height of the structure and if it was wider than it needed to be.

Cole said he couldn’t see a hardship for the case. LeBoeuf and Roberts both voted for the rear variance, but neither the rear nor the left side request got enough votes for approval.

The owner of 909 Oak Grove Road, Rhonda Davis, will have to attend the BZA’s June meeting in order to answer questions about her plans to tear down and build a new home on the property. She had requested a 26-foot variance for the front setback of the house.

Davis was not present at the May 2 meeting but sent a representative, who said she plans to build partially within the same footprint of the current house. However, the renderings given to the BZA did not show how the house would be situated on the lot, and the representative could not answer all of their questions about the house.

Cole said the lot appears to be large enough to fit the house without encroaching so far into the front setback.

Davis’ representative asked to carry the issue over until Davis could attend and bring more information for the board.

The BZA also:

  • Approved a 2-foot right side setback variance for the owner of 1735 Old Columbiana Road to build a new deck, which will be about 1.7 feet further away from the property line than the existing fence.
  • Approved several variances for Bryan Pressnell, the owner of 3410 Independence Drive, who plans to tear down the building on the property and construct a 7,200-square-foot office building in the same footprint. The building required a 7-foot front setback, 5-foot setbacks on each side and a variance for eight parking spaces. Pressnell said there are 10 parking spaces in the right-of-way on the property, which he can’t count toward the parking on his site but will help prevent any parking issues. Pressnell said the building will have a single financial services company.
  • Approved variances for the owners of 202 East Linwood Drive to build an addition on the back of their house. The owners initially requested a 5-foot right side setback variance and a 4-foot left side setback variance because their lot narrows toward the back. However, neighbors voiced concerns that the building would be too close and could cause drainage issues, so the homeowners offered to move the addition back so it would require only 1 foot of setback variance on the left side. This amended request was approved.