HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Report 02-28-222 of 9
CARMEL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS | HEARING OFFICER MEETING
DEPARTMENT REPORT
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022
(V) Shrewsbury Residence Variances.
The applicant seeks the following development standards variance approvals:
2. Docket No. PZ-2022-00011 V UDO Section 2.10 Min. 35% lot cover required, 49% requested.
3. Docket No. PZ-2022-00012 V UDO Section 2.10 Minimum 35-ft front yard building setbacks
required, 11-ft and 25-ft requested.
The site is located at 401 Emerson Rd. (Johnson Addition, Lot 25) and is zoned R2/Residence. Filed by
Tommy Lazzara of Custom Living Inc. on behalf of Ronda Weybright Shrewsbury, owner.
General Info & Analysis: The Petitioner seeks approval to tear down the exiting home and build a new one in
its place. Building permit B-2022-00008 is pending, and that is how the need for variances was identified. The
lot has three street frontages, hence three front yards. The requested variance approvals are for lot coverage and
for building setbacks. Please see the Petitioner’s info packet for more detail on the variance request.
The existing house is marked by the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission’s (CHPC) architecture survey as
Contributing. The commission voted to approve of the demolition request of the existing house. The petitioner
has worked with the commission to modify the proposed house design, too.
Lot Cover Variance: The maximum allowed lot cover percent is 35%. The Petitioner requests 49%. This is a
variance of 14%. Things that contribute toward lot cover are pavement and concrete areas, building footprints,
and other impervious surfaces. The Petitioner has committed to paying toward the Stormwater Fund/Fee rather
than providing on site stormwater detention. They will continue to work with the Carmel Engineering Dept. on
that matter. (The petitioner
Front Setbacks Variance: As stated before, the lot essentially has three front yards since it has a curved road, so
it can be considered three street frontages. This is a variance of 10-ft, or 29%. The minimum allowed front yard
setbacks allowed by the Unified Development Ordinance is 35-ft, and that is measured from the street right of
way (not the pavement). Since the house will be a new build, it needs to comply with today’s zoning ordinance.
The petitioner requests two 25-ft front yard building setbacks and one 12-ft setback. However, when measuring
from the street curb/pavement, the setbacks are greater.
After the Petitioner worked with the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission on the overall house design,
materials, and colors, the garage location was rotated, and now a 12-ft setback is requested along the west
property line. This will allow for less of the residents to be impacted by the placement of the garage doors.
(However, a recent letter from a neighbor suggests that perhaps the house should be moved even more to the
east, and also that the garage orientation change. This can be a point of discussion at the public hearing should
the Hearing Officer decide to explore this.)
(The Petitioner will also modify the site plan so that the swimming pool and its decking will meet the 10-ft side
yard setback. The set back of the pool, decking, and its equipment needs to be at least 10 feet from the
side/South property line, per UDO Section 5.02.C.7. Petitioner, what is the status of this site plan change?)
It is important to note that the Johnson Addition subdivision plat shows 25-ft platted setbacks for this lot. This
subdivision was platted around 1959.
The Petitioner addressed all planning/zoning review comments. The Planning Dept. supports the variance
request, with the condition listed below in the Recommendation, below.
Findings of Fact: Please refer to the Petitioner’s Findings of Facts included in their info packet.
Recommendation: The Dept. of Community Services (DOCS) recommends Positive consideration of Docket
Nos. PZ-2022-00011 to -00012 V, with the Condition of the Petitioner addressing all Engineering Dept.
concerns, and with adoption of the findings of fact submitted by the Petitioner.