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Home My WebLink About2024-12-16 I01C Receipt-File_Board of Adjustment Minutes 12052024 AGENDA ITEM: CITY OF WAUKEE, IOWA CITY COUNCIL MEETING COMMUNICATION MEETING DATE: December 16, 2024 AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of receipt and file of Board of Adjustment Minutes of December 5, 2024, meeting FORMAT: Consent Agenda SYNOPSIS INCLUDING PRO & CON: Attached is a copy of the Board of Adjustment Minutes from their meeting held on December 5, 2024, for the City Council to receive and file of record. FISCAL IMPACT INCLUDING COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS: COMMISSION/BOARD/COMMITTEE COMMENT: STAFF REVIEW AND COMMENT: RECOMMENDATION: ATTACHMENTS: I. 12/5/2024 Board of Adjustment Minutes PREPARED BY: Melissa DeBoer, Planning Coordinator REVIEWED BY: PUBLIC NOTICE INFORMATION – NAME OF PUBLICATION: DATE OF PUBLICATION: I1C The meeting was called to order at 5:31 PM by Chairperson Juan Garcia. Item 1: Roll Call: The following members were present: Cole Bisgard Dan McAlpine Juan Garcia Dellan Llewellyn Bryce Johnson Members not present: None City Staff Present: Melissa DeBoer, Planning Coordinator, Elizabeth Cramblet, City Planner, and Dawn Young, Community Development Specialist Item 2: Agenda Approval: The agenda for the December 6, 2024, meeting agenda was approved on a motion by Cole Bisgard, seconded by Bryce Johnson. On voice vote, all ayes. Item 3: Approval of September 26, 2024, Meeting Minutes The minutes of the September 26, 2024, meeting were approved on a motion by Dellan Llewellyn, seconded by Cole Bisgard. On voice vote, all ayes. Item 4: Application for 755 Hamilton Road (Lot 9, Hamilton Ridge Plat 8) – Variance from 450 NW Red Oak Court (Lot 14 of Ashley Acres Plat 3) Variance from §169.08 of the Waukee Municipal Code to allow construction of a pool house that exceeds 14-feet in height Elizabeth Cramblet, City Planner, introduced the request to allow construction of a pool house that exceeds 14 feet in height. The subject property is located at 755 Hamilton Road, west of 6th Street and south of Ashworth Road. The property is located at the east end of the cul-de-sac on Hamilton Road. The property is a vacant, undeveloped, single-family lot. The applicant is preparing to build a house on the lot and an 1,800 square foot pool house with a covered patio behind the main house. The property owner submitted a building permit application for the home and was denied due to the proposed overall height of the pool house that exceeded the allowable height of 14 feet in the R-2 District. The owner requests a variance to allow the height to exceed the maximum allowable height. Variances are designed to grant relief from the Ordinance, which if strictly imposed, would deny a property owner reasonable use of the land and create undue hardship. An applicant is required to prove that a hardship exists by demonstrating that the overall integrity of the area will not be diminished, a reasonable use cannot be made, the situation is unique, and the hardship is not self-imposed. The applicant, Destination Homes, has submitted a Board of Board of Adjustment Meeting Minutes December 5, 2024 Adjustment application dated October 31, 2024, stating arguments in favor of the requested variance. Notice of the proposed variance request was mailed to surrounding property owners within a 310-foot radius on Friday, November 21, 2024. The applicant has noted that strict adherence to the accessory building height requirement of 14 feet would not align with the architectural design principles applied to the main residence, creating a visual disconnect that detracts from the intended cohesive aesthetic. Additionally, the applicant has noted that the pool house is located behind and lower than the main house, which affects its visibility and integration within the overall property. The unique positioning of the pool house, behind and lower than the main residence, justifies the slight height increase to maintain consistency with the primary home’s design. Due to these site-specific conditions, alternatives that would not require a variance would compromise architectural integrity and create a visual disparity, which would not align with the ordinance’s intent to preserve property harmony and community standards. The applicant has noted that granting the variance will not have any adverse effects to the public interest or overall neighborhood integrity, and will not devalue nearby properties, as the structure is positioned behind and below the main house, ensuring it remains visually unobtrusive and in harmony with surrounding aesthetics. The requested height adjustment is solely to maintain architectural consistency with the main residence. Generally speaking, staff would always be in the position of recommending against variance requests because the request does not meet the requirements of the zoning Ordinance of which staff is obligated to carry out. Staff will not make a recommendation on the requested variance and will leave the decision to the Board of Adjustment based upon the merits and criteria of the requested variance. In lieu of making a recommendation, staff will provide the following list of items that staff feels are pertinent to the request and will aid the Board in making their decision: • The property is currently vacant • The applicant is proposing to construct an accessory structure that exceeds the allowable height of 14 feet, resulting in an increase in overall height to the top of the roofline by approximately 6 feet • The area of the lot in question is 51,816 square feet (1.18 acres) – the minimum required lot area in the R-2 district is 8,000 square feet which exceeds the minimum lot size requirements of the R-2 zoning district by 43,816 square feet • The lot in question meets or exceeds all other bulk regulations of the R-2 district including lot depth and lot width • All homes with accessory structures within the Hamilton Ridge neighborhood, as well as across the rest of the City of Waukee, are held to the same requirements Discussion as follows: • General discussion of maximum square feet allowed for accessory buildings; confirmation that Waukee does not have a maximum size, but do require 30% open space in the back yard, also confirmed that Waukee does not allow ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units) • Discussion of location of the pool house to be located behind and below the main residence due to the grading of the lot • Jamie Myers, of Destination Homes, 2450 73rd Street, Urbandale, presented information on the design of the principal structure and the pool house which are meant to be cohesive; he also reminded the group that there is nothing around these structures • General discussion of the location with Board Member Dan McAlpine sharing that he had driven by the physical location and didn’t see any issue or impact on the neighborhood • Confirmation that no responses had been received from neighbors who were notified in the surrounding area Motion by Juan Garcia to approve the variance from §169.08 of the Waukee Municipal Code related to 755 Hamilton Road (Lot 9 of Hamilton Ridge Plat 8) to allow an accessory structure (pool house) to exceed the allowable height of 14 feet, seconded by Bryce Johnson. On voice vote, all ayes. On roll call vote, motion was approved: Roll Call: Bisgard: Yes McAlpine: Yes Garcia: Yes Llewellyn: Yes Johnson: Yes Item 5: New Business: None Item 6: Adjournment The meeting was adjourned on a motion by Juan Garcia, seconded by Cole Bisgard. The meeting adjourned at 5:47 PM. ________________________________ Juan Garcia, Chairperson Attest: ________________________________ Melissa DeBoer, Planning Coordinator