August 11, 2008
The meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) was called to order by President Laporte at 6:02 PM at the Village Hall.
ROLL CALL Present: Trustees Al-Awar, Boddie, Bogat, Butterwick, Langford Laporte, Lindstrom, MacKrell and Wilkes. Absent: None.
Others attending: ZPA Perry, Asst. Treasurer Redies, Supt Esch, BHMC President Bultman and resident Gregory Saldana.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Boddie moved that the minutes of the June 9, 2008 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting be approved as printed. Mrs. MacKrell seconded; the motion carried.
APPLICATION FOR VARIANCE 715 Spring Valley Road
Public Hearing President Laporte convened the public hearing at 6:04 PM concerning the application from Gregory Saldana and Monica Ponce de Leon, 715 Spring Valley Road, to convert a garage into living space. ZPA Perry explained that the house is a continuing non-conforming structure, having been constructed before the Zoning Ordinance was adopted resulting in a small portion intruding into the front set back. The applicants are requesting variance from Section 9.02(c) of the Ordinance which prohibits alteration of a non-conforming structure. Mr. Perry added that the house was acceptable under the Ann Arbor Township zoning ordinance applicable at the time of construction. Mr. Saldana stated that the plan to convert the garage to a study will not change the footprint of the house, only the exterior where the large door will be replaced with windows and smaller doors. A letter was submitted by William and Helen Becher, 691 Spring Valley Road, expressing no objections to the conversion but raising concerns about parking; Ms. Laporte read relevant portions of the letter. Mr. Saldana spoke with the Bechers earlier, assuring them there is no intention to park on the street, noting that there is room adjacent to the existing garage for four cars. The Bechers were satisfied with this response, as verified by a phone call from Mrs. Becher to Mr. Wilkes prior to the meeting. There were no further comments from the public. The public hearing was closed at 6:21 PM.
BZA Discussion The 1958 site plan indicates that the parking spaces along Spring Valley Road were part of the original design. Mr. Lindstrom noted that the original owners used the parking spaces near the road and no one objected. When asked about the possibility of a garage in the future, Mr. Saldana replied that there was no appropriate place to add a garage, due to the topography of the lot, but that the conversion would be reversible and the original garage could be restored. Mr. Boddie moved approval of the application. It was suggested that the approval include the condition that a garage with non-conforming setbacks cannot be built in the future. A further condition to remove the on-street parking spaces or limit their use was also suggested. Mr. Saldana repeated his intention to use the space near the house for regular parking and use the on-street parking only for occasional social gatherings. Mr. Al-Awar called the question (Al-Awar/Boddie/P).
Motion Mr. Boddie moved that the application for variance to convert garage space into living space within the set back (continuing non-conforming structure) submitted by Gregory Saldana and Monica
Ponce de Leon, 715 Spring Valley Road, be approved based on practical difficulty.
Mr. Al-Awar seconded; the motion carried with Trustees Butterwick and Laporte voting no.
NEW BUSINESS None.
Mrs. MacKrell moved the meeting be adjourned at 6:22 PM. Mr. Butterwick seconded; the motion carried.
Mary Bennett for
Janice Esch, Deputy Clerk