Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

VA-03-05-050 — Robert Rausch

Request: Variances in R-1A (single family-7,500 sq. ft. lots) zone to construct a two-story single family residence on a substandard lot as follows: 1) 3,900 sq. ft. in land area in lieu of 7,500 sq. ft.; 2) 43.7 ft. in lot width in lieu of 75 ft.; 3) 23 ft. from rear property line in lieu of 30 ft.; 4) 5 ft. from side (west) property line in lieu of 7.5 ft. (NOTE: Applicant is proposing to replace existing single family residence with new single family residence).

Decision: Approved

Hearing: The property contains an old dilapidated house about 700 square feet in size that was built in the 1940's. The house was condemned, having been under citation by Code Enforcement for a host of Housing Code violations. The CEB ordered corrective action by May 20, 2003. The property owner recently purchased the lot and indicated the old house would be torn down as quickly as possible. A new house will be built which will include a ground level two-car garage and living area, and additional living area upstairs. This arrangement is necessary in order for the house to meet current Zoning Code requirements for the minimum 1,200 square foot house size under R-1A zoning. Mr. Rausch indicated that in designing the home, he discovered an additional area on the west side would be needed to accommodate the stair landing. Failure to do this would result in insufficient head room between the upper and lower levels. The BZA granted the extra 2 1/2 ft. because Mr. Rausch owns the abutting property to the west. A petition was submitted with over three dozen signatures in favor of the request, which included the abutting property owner on the rear where Variance #3 is requested. Other correspondence was received in favor requesting the BZA ensure the minimum house size requirement (1,200 sq. ft.) would be met, that the applicant maintain access on Woods Street, and meet minimum on-site parking requirements. There was no opposition to this request.