BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MEETING
NOVEMBER 15, 2011
7:00 P.M.
I CALL MEETING TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
II ROLL CALL
Members Present: Jim Squires, Lawrence Hawkins III, Robert Weidlich,
Robert Emerson, William Reichert, Jane Huber, Chairman Dave Okum
Others Present: Randy Campion
III PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IV MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 18, 2011
(Mrs. Huber made a motion to accept the October 18, 2011 minutes as written;
Mr. Weidlich seconded the motion and with a unanimous affirmative vote from the Board of
Zoning Appeals Members the minutes were approved.)
V CORRESPONDENCE
Chairman Okum: There is no correspondence for this meeting.
VI REPORT ON COUNCIL
(Mr. Hawkins gave a summary of the October 19th and the November 2nd Council Meetings.)
VII REPORT ON PLANNING COMMISSION
(Chairman Okum gave a report on the November 8th Planning Commission Meeting.)
VIII CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT AND SWEARING IN OF APPLICANTS
IX OLD BUSINESS
(No Old Business to present at this Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.)
X. NEW BUSINESS
Chairman Okum: The owner of 501 Lafayette Avenue has applied for a variance to allow him
to expand his garage. Said variance is requested from Section 153.105(B) “The garage
shall have a minimum floor area of 400 square feet and a maximum floor area of 600 square
feet.”
Mr. Billy Mason: My wife Anna is here with me tonight and my address is
501 Lafayette Avenue. When we bought the house it was considerably smaller than what we
were used to but it did have a nice two car garage and with the lay of the garage I see no
problem with extending the garage and staying well within the boundary lines of our
property. A couple weeks ago the two Building Inspectors were out on my property to
inspect a shed that I had moved to make sure that it was in variance and it was. While
they were there I thought it was a good opportunity to discuss what I planned on doing. We
took some tape measures and I believe it was Gordon that said he didn’t see any
problem with it being within property lines. I think Bill said that there may be a footage
problem, so that is where this all came about. That is a Code that I knew nothing about
and I thought I was well within my rights as far as boundaries; and I am, as far as that
goes. If you have the pictures that I have you can see that there is plenty of room for
the addition. That is the reason for my variance request.
(At this time Mr. Campion read the Staff comments.)
Chairman Okum: Seeing that there is no one else in the audience we will move to questions
of the applicant and we will close the public portion of the proceedings.
Mr. Hawkins: Sir, describe for me both the height of the garage and what you expect to see
in terms of the design for the top of it.
Mr. Billy Mason: The roof will come off the existing garage and it will be the same height
as the existing roof and there is plenty of roof for pitch and for allowance for that.
What is on there now is a hip roof and this will come off at a straight angle off of the
bottom part of the hip roof.
Mr. Emerson: What made you decide to add onto your garage farther away from your house
instead of adding a stall closer to your house?
Mr. Billy Mason: The driveway is a half or three-quarter drive and to come on over into
the yard, I just don’t think it would look right; to go south would blend in much
better, in my opinion.
Mr. Emerson: You will probably have to remove a tree?
Mr. Billy Mason: No, there are no trees there.
Mr. Emerson: Isn’t there a tree in the front of your garage slightly south of the
building; along with a couple of bushes?
Mr. Billy Mason: No, there is a tree to the east of the garage, slightly south; it will
have no bearing on the structure. The building will be 20’ west of that tree.
Chairman Okum: Will the shed on your property remain?
Mr. Billy Mason: Yes, sir. The shed sits on the southwest corner of the property. There
will be approximately 20’ to 25’ between the side of the garage and the shed.
Chairman Okum: The roof elevation will change slightly, is it a gable roof?
Mr. Billy Mason: Yes, sir.
Chairman Okum: You will come off, sort of like a slope, off of the side of that?
Mr. Billy Mason: Yes, sir.
Chairman Okum: What will the material be that it will be constructed of?
Mr. Billy Mason: It will be 2 X 6’s and plywood; that is what the roof would be
constructed of.
Chairman Okum: The material of the face, would it be siding?
Mr. Billy Mason: It would be the same siding that is on the garage and it will be painted
to match the garage.
Chairman Okum: So, you are adding another door and it will have a third door?
Mr. Billy Mason: There will be a third door.
Chairman Okum: The existing tree that we see in the photograph won’t be removed?
Mr. Billy Mason: There are no trees that will be removed.
Chairman Okum: The applicant has presented an aerial photograph that he has drawn on
showing where the expanded concrete will be.
How deep is your existing garage?
Mr. Billy Mason: Twenty-four feet; and the addition will be the same depth.
Chairman Okum: What is the total width of the garage now?
Mr. Billy Mason: The total width of the garage will be thirty-four feet.
Mr. Weidlich: I have a comment. A couple years ago, I believe it was, I think we had an
applicant on Lafayette that got turned down for a garage extension because of square
footage. I totally appreciate what you are trying to do but I was wondering what kind of
message we would be sending to that other resident by approving an addition to a garage
when we turned another resident down.
Mr. Billy Mason: Mine is a corner lot and I think it is larger than most of the lots.
Mr. Weidlich: I am not exactly sure where they were. We set a precedent by approving
certain variances and it just kind of bothers me the message that we would be sending to
the other resident that we denied.
Mr. Billy Mason: Everybody around has really commented on how we have cleaned the place
up. It is a sixty-one year old home and everything that I touch falls apart and we have to
redo it.
Chairman Okum: The only comment I have is density; the good fortune is that the applicant
has a 70’ wide by 156’ lot. I do recall the same issue, Mr. Weidlich.
Mr. Emerson: What is above your garage, is that a workshop?
Mr. Billy Mason: There is a floor up there and nothing up there. There is no shop, just
storage.
Mr. Emerson: Is the expansion of your garage going to make that room larger?
Mr. Billy Mason: No. The extension will not have the attic in it; it would just be an
extension.
Mr. Emerson: Is there stairs going up?
Mr. Billy Mason: There are steps from the back of the wall that go up to it. It is a full
attic.
Mr. Hawkins: From the diagram that we have, it appears that there is no interior
connection between the existing garage and the addition. You are not going to put a
doorway to connect?
Mr. Billy Mason: Yes; as a matter of fact that was Gordon’s suggestion. There is a
window on the south side of the garage; it will be simple just to go straight down from
the window. There will be a doorway going out of the existing garage into the addition.
Mr. Hawkins: Regarding the one that was turned down before, was that an abnormal garage,
in terms of a bigger, higher ceiling garage?
(No one on the Board acknowledged that they remembered the details of that particular
request.)
Chairman Okum: Based upon the testimony given and the discussion, can we have a motion
brought to the floor please?
Mr. Squires: I would like to make a motion that the request for a 10’ X 24’
addition to the existing garage located on the property at 501 Lafayette be approved.
(Mr. Reichert seconded the motion.)
(Mrs. Huber polled the Board of Zoning Appeals Members and with five affirmative votes and
two negative votes the variance request was approved.)
Chairman Okum: Your request is granted and you can submit your building permit
application; you just need to go through the processes, the building application and
drawings and so forth.
XI DISCUSSION
Mrs. Huber: I want to ask, what will Springdale do if that beetle comes and we have to
chop the trees down; who will pay for that replacement? In Clermont County they are
cutting even healthy trees down.
Mr. Randy Campion: That tree ordinance only applies to commercial
properties.
Chairman Okum: The residential properties are not required, including
vacant properties. If a major parcel would be redeveloped it would be required. The Tree
Czar does have the ability to give relief on diseased trees.
XII. ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Huber moved to adjourn, Mr. Reichert seconded the motion and the Board of Zoning
Appeals meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Chairman
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Secretary Jane Huber