Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

VA-00-09-009 — Steven Douglas

Request: Variances in R-1A zone to erect a detached accessory structure (garage and artist studio) as follows: 1. 1,500 sq. ft. of floor area in lieu of 500 sq. ft.; 2. 35 ft. in height in lieu of 15 ft.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: This is a two-story structure. The first floor is a garage and the second story is the studio. The applicant and his wife are collector hobbyists, and the wife is into restoring collectibles. Their collections are taking over the house, and the wife needs room to work on her restoration projects. The applicant could have added onto the house the same size and configuration without requiring BZA approval, but the applicant wants to preserve a large tree that is located directly behind the house. Approval of the detached building would constitute no visual difference than if it had been built onto the house. More than two dozen commentary/letter signatures were submitted in favor of the request. There was no opposition to this request. The conditions imposed by the BZA are standard conditions typically imposed on these types of variance requests.