Planning & Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music]

Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] down. Hey [Music] I want you to be [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. N.

Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] gentlemen and welcome to tonight's zoning board of adjustments hearing. At this time, I would like to explain the procedures to be followed during the meeting. Item number one, citizens comments. This provides opportunities for the members of the public to address the commission

on the items listed on the agenda for which there is no public hearing. Do we have anyone wishing to address? That's no. No, ma'am.

Okay. For the case on the agenda, applicants and speakers in support of the application for the variance will be limited to five minutes each. Speakers opposed to the application shall be limited to a total of seven minutes for all speakers. The applicant shall have a total of two minutes to rebut the arguments of the opponents. The secretary will let you know when one minute is left. Prior to speaking, please give your name and address. Please remember to speak directly into the microphone as this hearing is recorded for public record. During the public hearing testimony, each side will proceed without interruption by the other and all arguments and pleadings shall be addressed to the board. No discussion or questions between the applicant and opponents are are permitted. Okay. The next item on our agenda is citizens comments and we do not have any. Next item will be consideration of the minutes. Approval of the minutes. Is there a motion to approve? Is there a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting? Is

there second? Second.

All those in favor? I. Any opposed? We have a motion and a second. Everybody's voted. So, the motion is passed unanimously. Item three is the board of adjustments case 2025-281- BOA variance. A variance to UDC section 4 8.4.2 established front yard to allow 1.5 foot encroachment into the 30-foot setback at 1708 Glenn Valley Drive. Before we open the public hearing, are there any requests for po postponement or jurisdictional issues that anyone would like to raise? If no objections are raised, we move on to the next step and that is the public hearing is now open. If you plan to speak today, please stand and to be sworn in and April, will you please wave the amend?

Yes, ma'am. Okay. So, please stand and if you plan to speak, stand and be sworn in. Okay. So, please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the statements which you will make tonight to the zoning board of adjustment of the city of Irving will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. Please be seated.

Will the Will the city please describe the nature of the case and advise the board of any communications received? Good evening. Gina Castanza Grant, sen senior planner with the planning department. Uh just a quick summary of the case at hand. Uh the applicant is requesting a variance of one and a half uh foot encroachment into the 30 foot established front yard setback uh at the front yard. Um the applicant discovered uh the encroachment when they were making a a small expansion to the garage at the front of the property and uh upon realizing that uh had an updated survey done um and realized that there was actually uh an encroachment uh that was existing. But before they completed construction, they did want to come uh before the board to request the variance uh and uh allow for that encroachment without uh reconstructing or redesigning uh their proposed plans.

Have we received any communications regarding this? Uh we did receive um several responses in favor. Uh so we have uh on the highlighted map um a number of uh letters in favor that were submitted uh that are highlighted in green and not only within the 200 foot boundary of notifications that were sent but also several houses outside that uh 200t boundary. Okay. Will the applicant please confirm? Is the applicant here?

Will you please confirm that you are the owner? Are you the agent? You're the contractor. We need for you to go to the mic, please. Just to clarify quickly, um on the number of notices, we mailed 32 in total. Um we received uh let's see 29 letters of support um on Glen Valley and 16 from other streets in the area. Thank you for clarification. But no opposition. Okay.

Will you please present your case and supporting evidence? Can you turn the mic on, please, sir? The microphone. It's uh there's two issues that uh first off, the house was built over the build line to begin with, and the second issue is that the house is twisted on the lot, which uh puts one end of the house even further over the build line. Um,

yeah, I'm not good at this.

Hello, my name's George Hearn. Uh, Mark's a contractor here. I used to be a custom home mill in Irving. when he had this project, went through the permit process and everything to get this approved, he called me up and uh asked me, he says, "Well, when I'm pulling the lines and numbers, it looks like it's over the building line." I I requested I said, "What you got to do is get you a farmboard survey. That way, we know exactly what's going on." So he did what I recommended him to do and this has all been permitted and processed for the same exact thing. So when we got the form board uh back you can see that it was revealed that the house itself was over the building line. It's existing. So when I explain this I I want everybody to imagine it's their house with this citizen Irving. It's his house. Imagine at your house and what the can of worms is opened up here. It's not his fault that it his existing house is needs to be addressed because it's over the building line because it was tilted and over the property lines. So it revealed that the permitted process as it squared it off is what the permit process was supposed to be. it actually comes out a little bit further due to the angle that it's continuing to get a little further out. Now, with this said, you're going to have to move this line regardless because of the existing house. You can't cut the existing house back. So, we got to address the problem already that no one knew about. And if you were doing this, we're not trying to get something permitted uh that isn't, you know, over and above the line by itself. The

house itself is over and above the line. So, the permitted process is going to be part of that equation in my humble opinion because we've already started that. And you would want that cuz if we set that portion back, it wouldn't be fair to the homeowner to come one foot and not allow the other few inches to go ahead and resolve the issue. And not only that, it's 30 foot building line. There's 30 foot, 25 ft, 20 foot, 15 foot, 10 foot. Now, if it was 10 foot, we would worry about inches. But with such a offset of building front building line just to move it the foot and a half or two foot to resolve all issues that nobody expected. Nobody tried to see this problem would solve everything. You're going to have to move it anyway. A foot minimum cuz of the existing house. You can't go in there and saw the house off. So it's best to go ahead and move it to foot one foot 8 in to go ahead and resolve all the issues. So when they when I recommend him to get the form board survey, it just opened all these up. So just imagine your house getting permitted and you didn't realize these issues occurred and now they occurred and your house is still open. And I'm speaking on behalf of the homeowner that we owe the citizen Irving to go ahead and resolve both issues cuz we're just talking inches here with and it's a big offset of building line. People can drive 100 people could drive down through there and we can move it two foot even and no one will even notice notice it, you know. So that would hopefully everybody would be in favorable to go ahead and moving it to allow the permitted area to go ahead with the existing cuz you're going to have to move the existing house line anyway. Let's go ahead and just move it

a little a few more inches and solve everything cuz I think that's the only thing we need to do with a homeowner that didn't ask for none of this. And uh if it was your house and it was all open and it's in this status, you'd want to get this process going too. He's waited long enough and and it's not his problem that this occurred. You know, nobody wants this. So hopefully when you evaluate this, you evaluate if you were if it was your house, you can get this uh in favorable recommendation to bring it out to where it can all proceed. and the homeowner's here, but he didn't put his name to talk. But hopefully I got no skin in the game other than Mark just asked me which re my opinion on how to see what's going on. And when this got revealed, this is the problem. And hopefully we can just solve it real easy by just take making a 28t uh building line and then proceed with everything. We don't have to change nothing. So that's what's what we're asking for right now. Thank you.

One more thing, sir. The contractor, uh, could you please identify yourself, please? You need to turn on your mic. Okay. Mark Dancey. Uh, we're not coming out past the existing plane of the home. Uh, also we're just coming flush with the other end of the house. So we're not coming out any further than the existing home. So we're just like to keep keep the entire plan of the home behind the line. Does that make sense? So can I ask something?

Sure. Are there any other are there any other speakers in support in this case? here.

Will you please take the mic and identify yourself?

Diane Cartwright, 1706 Glen Brook Drive. Um, been in Irving since 1962. I am one of Mr. Wheeler's neighbors and I can tell you that in the neighborhood he has one of the most pristine properties that you've ever seen. His yard is uh commercially landscaped. Uh he has people give great care to it. Um the neighbors love him. He is spending a substantial amount of money, more than $200,000 to improve the property in the hospital district. Um I would ask that you please go ahead and approve his variance. I'm a local realtor and I can tell you that there are always things that pop up on surveys. Uh many times when someone buys a home, uh they have an ex they accept the existing survey. No one knows if it's correct or not. They accept it. The title company accepts it. So really, Mr. Wheeler is not at fault here. So, uh please approve his variance. You don't have to turn that off right now.

Are there any other speakers in favor? Are there any speakers who wish to speak in opposition to this case and present your arguments? Seeing we have no uh speakers in opposition, are there any questions that you as uh the the committee wish to ask?

On the um you made the comment the contractor we need to make sure he was still there. the uh you stated that I guess you were talking about the eaves of this is strange the eaves of the house coming out were already over where you're talking about getting this variance is that is that how I understood that when you said the house was already over 6 in on one end 8 in let me explain okay

well eaves don't count as the building line it's the it's the actual wall so yes the existing house was, you know, if you had the the the building line, it's at a a twoderee offset, so it's over the building line anyway. And if and all he was doing was squaring off, did I lose the mic?

So, so all we're requesting is to keep that same line. Uh like I said, the house itself already is appro uh you know obstructing and going over the building line. We you're going to have to address that. That's the main thing. And anyway, so you're going to have to move the building line cuz he can't Hello. Did I lose your mic again? Okay. Hello.

Hello. Okay. So, the fact of it is is we're going to have to move the building line just I lost you again. Just so it so it will it can I reference that up there?

You have to use the mic at the podium. Please

don't touch Okay. Well, you can see the house itself. You can see the tilt of it. Well, the existing house itself is over the red building line. So, it has to be lowered regardless because you can't just cut a house. You can't take 6 in or a foot out of a house that's existing. So, you're going to have to work with that line. That's the main thing that problem here. And that and going with the existing house, not knowing the existing house was over the building line originally. So, nobody knew this problem was existing. All the homeowner's asking is that you move the line to make the house existing work, but go ahead and have the permitted part that's already been approved. Move it another 8 in to go ahead and fix both problems cuz the existing house is a problem and the permitted pro part is a problem, too. So, they both have to be equally addressed. And why would you do one occasion, one half of it without doing the other one? Because like I said, it's so minor and it's a 30ft building offset. If it was 10, if it was 15, but when you go up to 20, 25, 30, it's not, you can't even notice it. No one will ever know it. And you need to work with a homeowner. I think I hope that everybody would think if it was their house it simplest

solution cuz nobody tried to address and cause this issue is to move it two foot down and solve all issues. It's kind of of a no-brainer if you want to a simple solution. Hopefully that's a an favorable recommendation for the homeowner. And like I said, I'm not the contractor. I'm not the homeowner. I just come up here to on behalf of the uh Mark that is the builder here that he g he he inquired how to figure out what was going on and when I recommended the form bar survey it revealed all this. So the sir we appreciate your comments thank you very much.

Okay you had a question. Yes I have a question and I don't know if it's going to be for staff or for the applicant. Exactly how much are we talking here? The staff report references 1.5 and the gentleman up here is saying 2 feet and 1.8. So, do we have a number? Do we know how much of a variance we're granting? The survey that we were given shows 20 28 and 1/2 ft from the property line. So, that's why that's how we got to the 1.5. So, that's the number we're going with. Yes. If you want to give a larger number to give some wiggle room, you can. But that that's where we came up with the one and a half. That's what I need to know. Thank you. Any other questions?

Yeah. And so, so the one and a half um I mean, but you we're going 6 in and 8 in and we just we just work up to a maximum of one point 1 1.5 at this at the south end. Right. Right. Because the way it's offset. So now when are are and I think it was it was mentioned, but I just want a clarification. the two the two faces on the on the garage and on the on the north end once once they're constructed they'll be in line. Yes. Correct. It'll be a straight face line. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. I appreciate your answer.

Any other? If there are no additional comments, we will close the public hearing and return to the commission for discussion. Is there a motion? Move to approve as per the staff report. Is there a second? Second. Second. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed by like sign. Claire, did you vote? I didn't see you vote.

Okay. That concludes the hearing. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]