Zoning Board of Adjustment - Regular Meeting

All right, Chairman, you're all set.

Please remember to turn on your microphone anytime you need to talk.

I guess we're ready to go with our meeting this July. It's been some time since we met, so it'll be interesting. I guess just roll call at this point? Yeah. Yeah. Acting Chairman Ted Cicero?

Here.

Carlos, I don't think you're on.

Acting Chairman Ted Cicero? Here. Acting Secretary David Zobel?

Here.

Member Missy Waldman?

Here.

Member Brian Weinstock?

Here.

All right. And I'll let the record reflect that Senior Planner Don Doty is in attendance, and then I, myself, I'm the Planning Director, Carlos Trejo, the Planning Director for the City of Olivet. Okay. Okay. Bear with me one second, Chairman. I'll get the agenda back up. All right. And tonight is a meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustments. We have one appeal. That appeal is for the property at 523 Bottom Force Drive. They're looking to replace the existing deck that is on the property grounds in there. So, Chairman, if it's really if it's OK, I'm going to kind of go over through what is the role of the Zoning Board of Appeal, your jurisdiction and the process. And then if there's any questions, we'll be glad to answer to that. Then I head through there. So the first thing I'll talk about procedures is an opportunity for public comment during the meeting. Also, anyone that is on Zoom can speak during the meeting at certain sections. Right now, we don't have any attendees on Zoom. If you do speak, you do have to be sworn in. Ms. Doty will swear you in. and then state your name and address, and then you can provide comments to the board. There'll be a specific section after a presentation by staff, discussions with the property owner and their representatives, and then an opportunity for the public to provide their comments regarding the appeal request. The meeting procedures, kind of like I stated, I'll give a presentation noting what is before the board, why it is here before the board, and what jurisdiction they have, and then they'll have an opportunity to ask me questions, and then we'll introduce the property owner and their representatives. There'll be discussions amongst them in there, and then the board will open it up for public comments in there, and then after that, They'll close the session. They'll have a deliberation amongst themselves here, and it's open, and then motion to do a vote and take action on that. All votes will always be in what we call an affirmative, like to grant the variance request as submitted. It's kind of required, but then at that point, they can vote no or yes, however they want it at that point. All right? Chairman, so again, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, it's kind of like a quick overview. Staff will present, then there will be an opportunity for the applicant, then public comments, you'll close your hearing, you'll have your deliberation, you'll motion to approve the variance request as submitted, and then you'll take a vote. It takes all four members to overturn a condition of the code that's being requested in here. This board has jurisdictions over interpretations of the code, designations of the zoning map, the authority over public facilities and their location, reconstruction of a property that was destroyed and was trying to be rebuilt in there, and then what we call area and use variances. And that's where someone's seeking some exemption from the code requirements that apply to every other property in the city. And then there are certain criteria that the board has to consider when considering an area or a use variance. And I'll go over that. Today we are talking about an area variance, more specifically a rear yard setback. So the board in considering somebody requesting an area of variances, the property should be unique. It shouldn't look like every other property in the community. There should be some type of difficulty in terms of trying to comply with the code. There should be minimal to no impact to surrounding properties if a variance was authorized. It should meet the spirit and intent of the code. It shouldn't be something that's contrary to what the code is trying to produce or project. And then it's also should not impair light and air, increase congestion, increase public danger, diminish or impair property values, or impair public health, safety, comfort and morals and welfare of the city of Olivet. So all these things will be evaluated by the board when they consider the variance request for the property. That being said, Chairman, so I'm set to start the meeting and I can go ahead and read the public hearing notice. It's a process we have to go through into the record. So we are here tonight. The Board of Adjustment of the City of Olivet, Missouri will hold a public hearing on Thursday, July 9th, 2026 at 7 o'clock p.m. The meeting will be conducted in person and virtually with the agenda and the link that was available on our website. The meeting is regarding the following petition. The petitioners are... is Alex Young with FR Young Homes. The property address is 523 Bonham Forest Drive, and the property owner are Alexander and Tara Lumaghi. And the zoning of the property is SR Single Family Residential District. The appeal request is under our code, under what we call Section 400.260. That establishes the yard and setback requirements for single family residential properties in the SR District. And a minimum 20 foot rear yard setback is required along what would be on this property, the western property line. There's an existing deck on this property and the petitioner proposes to reconstruct that existing deck 11.5 feet from the western property line. In doing so, they need to request a rear yard setback variance of 8.5 feet. They're not looking to get any closer. Matter of fact, they're actually getting a little further. And again, the code section that applies to this is Section 400, 260, yard and setback requirements under subsection C, which is a rear yard setback. All right. Chairman, if there's any questions from the board, I'd be glad to answer those. If not, I would be prepared to get sworn in, and I can provide a number.

Yes, I'd like to get sworn in.

All right.

Done. Sorry. Please raise your right hand. Um, is it all the each, do I need to swear in each person or?

No, you'll just do me for now. And then when they, when they speak.

Uh, do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help you God.

I do. All right, Chairman. This is the location of the property. Its address is 523 Bonham Forest Drive. It's part of the Bonham Forest subdivision. There's a little location map. It's just north of Old Bonham, kind of nestled between what we call White Rose Lane and Bonham Woods Drive. And there here's a couple of street views and you have these in your packet if you and I can also get closer. But this is a view of looking at the property north as you're going into the into bottom forest. This is a view looking south as you were leaving bottom forest and you can see some of the grade changes and as it kind of falls in the back. And then this is a County Google aerial view of the existing property. The front door faces east, and you can see it along here, and then the rear is the west, and you can see there is an existing deck behind the property right here. We received an inquiry to remove and replace that deck. I had a discussion with the architect. They were looking to do a deck and a kind of a pergola type of, to sun blockade up on top that's open. In their end of discussion, You know, we noticed that it encroaches within the rear yard setback already. So there was a couple of things. One of the things we noticed, like, well, we'll look in our archives to see when the permit was issued, and then also looking to see if there was any prior zoning review or through this board, because that would authorize that, that would be permanent. And looking, we could not find any, we couldn't find the date that this permit was issued for the deck. We could not find in our archives any information that this property was before the Zoning Board of Appeals prior.

When was the deck constructed, do we know?

Well, the best we could tell looking at some aerials is that somewhere around 1995. It clearly appears on an aerial. And since then, since 1995, the city has inspected that property three times. It's had the changeover of three different property owners. I believe they're the third owner since 1995. And in each of those reports, there was no mention regarding the deck or the condition of the deck. It seemed to be appropriate and all that. The first report did require some of the railings to be adjusted to a specific height. And that was the only recognition in the reports regarding the property. Then I believe in 2006, and I'll have the specific date for you later down in the presentation, they applied for a sunroom on the north side of the property. Permits were issued. The deck was there at that time, and there was no questions regarding this placement and its location. They provided a couple of surveys, boundary surveys that showed that the deck is there. And it's listed in the county recorder needs website that there is a deck that is back there. I just could not find. Again, if they were going to repair the deck, they would just be applying for permits and there are things that they can do. But the goal here was like they're removing the entire deck and wanting to replace it. And at that point, I don't have the authority to give them the permit because it would have to be done in conformance with the current code. We had a discussion about this specific property because it is what I would term somewhat unique in there, and there's a couple of reasons. This is a boundary survey of the property. This is 2021, and you can see the existing duct here and the existing home. This is the screen porch that was added in 2006, I believe was the date. And then there was also a permit that was issued for the playhouse back here in there. This is the existing deck in there. Now, in the three property occupancy inspections, there was never any report that the deck was failing or needed to be replaced because it was in a danger in there. But you can tell it's weathered and needs some TLC in that process in there, but never has the city approached it in the process of a cell that's saying, hey, this deck is not unsafe for its use. The way we calculate setbacks on a property is for a rear yard setback, we generally take the lot depth and multiply it by 20%, and in no case can it be less than 20 feet. This is a unique lot because you have one property line on the north end that's 138 feet, another property line on the south end that's 115 feet, but then you have this bowl right here that concaves inward into the property, and if you measure at the closest point, it's roughly about 100 feet. in there. So using the 100 foot depth as the principle, a typical lot in the SR district is 150 feet. So even using the most extreme on the north end, the 138, it's below 150. On the south end, it's way below the 150. And then just right centered in there, it's 100 feet. But in no case Should it ever be less than 20 feet? So in this case, 100 times the 20% is 20 feet. And the existing house is exactly or almost about 30 feet from the back wall to the property line. And then this is the deck. And there the deck is about 11.5 feet from the edge of the deck to the property line. The property grades drop significantly back here. And you almost have almost a full basement walkout on property. on the property. So the upper level, it's a one and a half story. The upper level kind of walks out into this deck area and then there are some steps to go downstairs too. Kind of getting a little close up on what they're looking to do. They would like to replace this deck as you see it here in this footprint with a new deck that's outlined here in green with a pergola kind of type of open cover. in there and you can see it in green and it would actually be about a foot and a half or two feet less than what the current deck is in place in there and again even though that encroachment exists even though you know we couldn't find specific information when the permit was issued how it was issued or if it was ever before the board I don't have the authority just to ignore the the the code and say, okay, you're doing the exact same thing. Again, if they were just doing solar repair, and we talked about that, you just weren't gonna replace the flooring or the railings, we would easily issue a permit administratively, but because they wanted to remove the post and reconstruct the deck, we discussed and thought the best solution was to go back to the Board of Adjustment, or go to the Board of Adjustment to get that considered. given some of the character of the property, the existing conditions, and the lack of information when it was placed. So this slide kind of gives you an overview of where that deck edge is and then how the properties are in the back. And as part of the zoning board process, of course, we notified all property owners within 300 feet of the property, which is beyond what our code requires in there. This is just a close-up to kind of show you more in detail. The deck, the existing deck itself is about 11.5 feet from the rear property line. The new deck will probably be probably 12.5 to 13 feet from the property line. And they're not looking to raise the elevation of the deck in any way. It would still be that same walkout and grade because of the way the doors are set. This is kind of like a, an application of the existing deck and how the pergola would sit. So it is an opener pergola. It is not enclosed in any way. And then the deck would be extended out into it where its current position is, except for those notches that are on that end.

And they can get out there, uh, back here. And that's a door that I'm seeing.

You can see here, this is the basement. So, you know, it's below grade from the front yard. But there is an exit from the basement. But then their first floor level, kitchen area and all that, is right up here. Okay.

Are they keeping the pergola top or what?

Yes. The pergola top doesn't exist now. This is the way it would look. It doesn't exist. It does not exist.

Oh, it doesn't. Okay. Okay.

And I'll show you a couple of pictures of the – well, you have the – this is the way it looks like right now. So it is a fully open air.

If they had desired just to go ahead and paint this and spruce it up, they would have been fine?

Correct. If they were just going to be replacing boards and all that – I would have the authority to allow them to do repair. What this picture doesn't show, and they may have some additional pictures, is whether the posts down here are deteriorated or not. Again, in our inspection reviews for occupancy, it was never noted that they were like, hey, your posts are failing, you need to repair those, nor did we ever get a property report that said, the posts were failing. But I think the goal right now is to take the complete deck off, including the posts, and then reconstruct. And the spa? Yes, the spa would go away.

And the pergola, if they just constructed a pergola over the existing deck, that would be...

I would have probably... would route it back to the board. I think it only because it's one of these things that it reduces the any it just it's the safest thing to do. You know, it covers in case some some issue comes up or something we didn't know or weren't aware about, it would be best to come to the board, even though the footprint already existed. So And if this was before a board at one time, again, I can't find any paperwork that it was or wasn't, and I can't find when the permit was issued. Um, and there, the way most of our motions are said, it's based on what was presented at that time. So if it was just a, a deck, you know, it would be a deck for a deck. Uh, if it had a pergola up there, then you would be seeing it for both components.

So back to 95 or whatever it was, uh, Was that, at that point, was it approved by the city?

I cannot find any paperwork on when that permit was. So that is not to say that it could have been part of the original house. I see. And we don't have records that go that far back. But based on looking on some aerials, we know by, you know, I'll show you those aerials. In 1995, we clearly saw there was a deck now.

Or else was the setback requirements in 95 the same as they're now?

Good question. Yes, yes, they were.

Okay.

So whatever this was built with a encroachment on the space.

Okay. So the next slide, these are those aerials that I was telling you about. 1981 is really hard to see. 95, we know we can see the deck here. 2015, we know that there was a deck in place. And then this is 2026. You can see the deck in that area. So again, I went through the archives as far back as I could to see, you know, between 1981 to 1995, if a deck was ever permitted or so. We keep track of all our permits issued as far back as since the city got incorporated in there in terms of a card. Just kind of tell the card tells you was a permit issued and what type of permit was issued. We don't keep the plans. We only keep plans up to six years. So the only index cards for this property was the construction of the house back in 1970. And then the screen room that's on the north side that was issued in 2006.

So the deck was never...

I can't tell you if it was part of the original house or if this doesn't appear. We don't see it clearly until the 1995 aerial. I understand.

What are the backyard? Who's that back up to?

Another subdivision, yes.

There's no house immediately behind them?

Oh, yes, yes, and I'll go back again. You can see here I kind of put the overlay. These houses are facing Bonham Woods, I believe. uh, in there and you can see their backyard and then the back end of that. And then if you go back to the aerials here and then also in your packet, you have a larger one, but you can see right here that they, they back up to several houses.

Did we get any comments from any of the neighbors?

We did. I did not get any written or, uh, phone comments, but we do look, does look like we have a couple of residents that are, that are attending.

Okay.

And then we did ask the petition to make sure that they talk to, to the neighbors.

Okay.

All right, so I'm going to go back to these again. We know clearly in 1995 that the deck was there. Prior to that, it's really difficult to tell if it was back in 1981 or not in there. Talking about the lot, apparently you go back to 1937, this whole area was farmland. And this line that you see here with the bow, it's identifying a road that's down in the future. Yeah. And we can't take that off in the process. So it's just to let you know that's why. Now, in 1937, this was just one big area. And then in 1955, you can see that they built a house here. And you can see the driveway going to that house. Then in 1970, a subdivision was approved. I think at that time, they kept the house, the principal house that was here. They've added on to it. But that house was kept, and the road was bowed around it to preserve that house. And this lot, the subject property, ended up getting... getting squished in the middle here to accommodate that roadway. And then you can see here in 1981, the subdivision's fully built out. It's a full straight street, except when you get to that old house It bows into 523. And that's, you know, so since 1970, that's just the way the lot is. I mean, if you bought it, that's what you bought. It wasn't any surprise or anything new. That's the way it was designed. And a house was clearly built on the property grounds. This is 2026. It's the most current in there. And then you can see that property... This here is part of the old house back that was built in the 50s, and then they did an addition. But you can see how the road was curved to try to maintain and accommodate the old farmhouse that was on there. All the other properties are rectangular. So I'll go back to the original aerial here. And you can see the remaining properties within the subdivision. For the exception of 523, they're pretty much rectangular or square in nature. All right, just a couple of things, findings that I need to enter into the record. The property is owned SR Single Family Residential. It's legally known as Lot 10 of the Bonham Forest Subdivision. The Bonham Forest Subdivision was approved by the City of Olivet and platted under Ordinance 881, which was adopted on August 26, 1969. This, again, is known as Lot 10. It's a legal lot of record. That means it was the way they designed it. It was compliant with the code at that time. Per county records, the house was built in 1970. Under Section 400-260 of the current municipal code, the rear yard setback is along the west property line. Based on county orioles, the deck clearly appears to be in place in 1995. The city's conducted three occupancy inspections that have been conducted since 1995, and these are the third owners since 1995 of the home. And then, again, part of the board, in terms of how you assess if a variance is warranted, is the lot unique? Does it have a unique condition, whether it's width, depth, or shape, topography, or other exceptional circumstances not created by the owner or the applicant? Is there a practical difficulty, meaning that if a variance isn't granted, does that mean that they can't do or use a viable use of the property? Is there an unreasonable impact to the adjacent properties? Does it maintain the spirit of the code? And then does it observe the general criteria that it doesn't impact light, air, safety, and those other conditions that we went through in 1650C? As part of my process, I have to enter items into the record. And I'm going to go over the emails that I had with the petitioner and correspondence, so it's part of the record. This initiated with a boundary survey that was provided by Matthew Mayer of Mayer Design Group, PC, dated May 26, 2026, in an email. And then I had email conversations with the petitioner, Alex Young with F.R. Young Homes, more specifically the June 23rd, 2026, noting that I didn't have the authority to allow them to completely remove the deck and replace it because of this rear yard setback. I'll note the three inspection reports that were conducted in the property since 1995. Then the city also issued a building permit, and I apologize, it was in 2016, so about 10 years ago, for permit 00333 for a screen porch addition on the north side of the property. That was issued in March 21st, 2016, and completed in July 7th, 2016, and we know the deck was fully in place at that time. uh the board of adjustment application uh dated june 30th 2026 sorry for that five um on there and you have copies of the application and the submissions uh in your packets the public hearing notice that we uh posted this in the st louis county and the affidavit of publication for june 24th 2026 and the posting of the list of addresses that were notified were uh within 300 feet the staff report you have dated july 9th 2026 including its attachments this powerpoint presentation and then the city of all of that code of ordinances including the chapter zoning regulations chapter 400 zoning regulations and the zoning map of the city of olivet chairman that concludes my presentation uh be glad to answer any specific questions the commission may have any questions from the award

I think my questions are already asked.

As were mine. Chairman, go ahead. Chairman, we do have representatives. I'll start with Ms. Young, and then if anybody wants to speak, if everyone can go up, get sworn in by Don, and then we'll go ahead. Give your name and address. Yes. So Don's going to swear you in first. Yes, you have to press the button.

Yes, press the button and say your name and your address.

Alex Young, 400 Wicksworth Lane.

Great, thank you. Can you raise your right hand, please? Thank you. Do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Yes. One, thank you guys for coming out this evening. I know it's a late evening, but contractors tend to have a bad rap and we want to make sure that things are done correctly. We pride ourselves on that. My husband and I have owned the company for about nine years now. So we try to do everything pretty detailed as much as we can. The client came to us looking to improve his deck. I mean, you guys saw it. It's, you know, boards are broken, posts are rotting. We want to make sure that we're keeping the appreciation of the value of the home going up and that would be best by replacing this deck. We thought we could just do a few boards, but honestly, it needs a full replacement because Piers are not up to code. They need to be a minimum of 12 inches. They are 8 inches currently. The posts are rotting and shrubs are blocking most of the area so it can't really be seen from the other side. And we are moving it from a wood deck to a composite deck so it will last over time versus having to do this again. So we will need to change the joists to be 12 inch on centers versus 16 inch on centers. um the pergola would only go on the portion that's by the back door um and hot tub would be removed staircase is moving to the exterior portion of it um just because where the staircase is now it is not up to code either um or per what code is now today so um i just want to give our two cents on it and feel free to ask any questions if you'd like for me This is not my forte. I'm usually in the back of the scenes.

Any questions? If this were to be 20 feet from the property line, would this rough math indicate that this deck could only be eight foot depth?

About nine and a half. Yeah. Ish.

And it's currently how?

Currently, it's 16.6 or 16 feet, six inches. So if we were to do it based on the code that is today, he'd lose a significant portion of his deck. I mean, eight feet, like if your door comes out, it's not a whole lot of feet to work with. And currently, we're just improving it. We're not changing the footprint. We're not making it larger. Like Carlos said, that one section, we are making it smaller, taking that jut out out. And the hot tub will go away. Any other questions I can answer?

I have a question. Does the pergola or the top part extend past the...

Okay, because this picture kind of looks like... Yeah, AI is not always our best friend. It's basically just to give you guys an idea of what it would look like with the pergola. It's not to give full shade. It's to give a little bit of sunlight to it. It would not extend past. I obviously wouldn't want to do that since we're having to do this variance meeting for the setback. But just to kind of give what the client is looking for. I do have a question, if I may. The code that came into play for the setback, when did that come in? When was that written? I guess is my question.

Best of my knowledge, the city adopted a whole new zoning ordinance creating a new chapter in 1985. Okay. And at that point, they changed the names and the code sections of all the previous So it's hard to know in 1970, I don't know what the property was zoned and what criteria was in place.

The only reason I'd ask is if the deck was built in 1995 and then the 20-foot offset, I'm just wondering when that 20-foot- I do know that I believe the 20-foot offset or the 20% depth was part of the 1985 changes, yes.

But this house was built in 1970, not to say that the deck wasn't there either.

Right, exactly. Understood.

lot of variables i get that anything else i can answer for anybody no i don't believe so thank you okay thank you okay chairman next we we do have a couple of property owners or people in attendance uh and uh state your address name your address oh well sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry yes

Now, in this case, again, Ms. Doty has to swear you in.

And please press the button to turn it on. It's on, actually on the...

I got you.

Please raise your... Oh, state your name and address. Fantastic. Please raise your hand. Right hand. Do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God.

I think you need to turn your, oh, you have this little red light when it's on.

Oh, I see. You really got to press. Okay. I appreciate you guys having us here today. I just wanted to say, you know, we've lived in this house for five years. We moved into O'Banham in 2016 and lived over on Beverly, and we love Olivet, and it's a wonderful city, and I appreciate that you guys give your time to do this. So I do think that we've lived in this house for five years. As you could kind of see from the pictures, there is a very dense row of brush and trees there, sort of a hedge. And it is very private, even if it seems like it's within the variance or outside of the variance. So we've never had any issues with any of our neighbors that I've been aware of due to the deck that have been brought to my attention. you know, I think that it's, if it's a difference between us trying to repair it in some way on the old posts versus simply having the same footprint, and having a nice new deck, it seems to me that the logic of that, you know, would be to, to proceed with that. And we have invested a lot in the house and, you know, done our best to keep it up. And I think that's all I have, unless anybody has any, any questions for me.

if it was set back on to the, uh, you'd have very little.

I think I don't even, I'm not sure what we would do in that circumstance. It would be a very long skinny deck in that it'd be eight feet wide and much, much longer than that. And I, so we'd have to think about what we would do in that circumstance. Um, I think it would be, it would look pretty funny, honestly, but, uh,

Okay.

Any other questions for the board? Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there other speakers?

Please turn the microphone on, state your name and address, please.

I am Ellen Binder. I live directly behind the petitioners at 518 Bonham Woods Drive.

Thank you very much. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God. I do.

So I moved into 518 Bonham Woods Drive in 1992, and the deck was there. Okay. And I appreciate being invited. I wasn't sure what this involved. I'm glad to hear that you're decreasing the depth of the deck. I've lived with it the way it is for over 30 something years. So I don't have an objection to what they are. And I haven't spoken to them at all. So I don't have an objection. The hedges are wonderful in terms of privacy. And I really hope you'll keep them or replace them. And I have, as you know, a lot of landscaping and fence. So I don't have any objections.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Are there other members who would like to speak?

Again, name and address. My name is Joseph Cross. I'm a 9515 Old Bonham.

Thank you, sir. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God?

I do.

Thank you.

Everybody loves a party. We all like a party. We all like to uh having something like a deck allows us to have people over have a party thing is is i've been i've been wondering over the last several years whether whether this is a residential house or whether this is a frat house it seems like on any given weekend you hear all kinds of noise coming from there a lot a lot of screaming a lot a lot of yelling never i've never called to complain i've always figured well whatever but uh Since this has come up, it gives us an opportunity to say that perhaps this deck is being used less as a family gathering place and more as a community hall of some sort. And there's been a fire there within about the last year or so. Is that correct, when the fire department was out?

No. You're talking about our neighbor's house.

Okay, well, but yours is the house that has the parties.

You're talking about the ladies that live next to us. Sorry, I'll come back up.

All right. But I mean, there's, you know, we live a block and a half away and we can hear it clear as day, people yelling and screaming all the time. So that's our objection.

You've never brought this up. I'm sorry? You've never brought this up to your neighbors before?

No. No. Have you ever called the police? Have not.

Okay. Are you sure you have the right house? Well, we drove by it today and we've driven by when there's been a party there in the past and we think it's the right house.

So you think when you heard all this yelling and screaming that the house that we're talking about right now is... Same house.

That's what we think it is, yes. And the deck was being used for? I'm sorry?

And the deck was being used as part of that party?

You can't see the deck from the front of the house.

I'm sorry, what was your address?

9515 Old Bonham. Oh, okay. So you're blocking a half away. Yeah.

Would the... Are there any questions for this gentleman?

No. I just want to be clear. You drove by when a party was actually going on? That was correct. And did you observe it in the back of this house?

I'll let my wife speak for that.

Any further questions for the gentleman? If not...

your wife thank you the name of your us oh you just turned off i just turned it off there you go okay uh patricia clifford 95 15 old bonham thank you uh do you oh please raise your right hand do you swear that the evidence you shall give to the board in this action shall be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god i do okay um

When we drove by there in the past, it was happening in the front yard, the activity. There was a lot of young people. And the noise that we've heard, the yelling and screaming, it's been happy yelling and screaming. It's not been angrier. It's been joyful. When we drove by there when there was a party going on or... there was activity going on. There was yelling and happiness, et cetera. It was in the front yard. My concern was that if all this fun activity is going to be moved from the front yard to the back deck, this is going to even be worse for us. But I do not know. They had a bonfire within the past year, year and a half that was quite large. I mean, it was huge. And It was pretty dry out at the time. But I can't say if the noise that we have heard has come from the backyard or not. I absolutely cannot say. I just know the one time when we drove out, drove around there, it was the front yard. Maybe that was a one-time thing and you said there's a neighbor that has noise all the time. Maybe we've got the wrong house. But my concern was that making the deck more um updated it's going to bring more people to it but if the noise and stuff isn't going on at that house then i don't care thank you okay any other comments or you wishes um she doesn't need to be sworn in again right do i need to be sworn in again i'm alan pinder um

The loud parties are next door. They have a swimming pool. They have a big screen TV. They are often out in the summer. It is somewhat loud. I do think it's a different house. 537. There are bonfires. And one night I did call and that scares me. And I don't know what the Olivet rules about that are. But I didn't hear noise. And I'm directly behind. I'm not hearing parties in the back of my house.

So you're at 518? Yeah.

My house is right there.

Okay. And have you...

heard happy yelling screaming noises from 5 20 and 5 23 11. they have 5 11. they have the pool they have a pool and they have a big screen tv and they have they have people over all the time and so it's okay but not from 5 23. i haven't heard it i'm not there All the time, but I haven't heard anything consistently at the back of my house. I would be noticing that.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll take her at her word that it's the house next door that is the noise. And so we withdraw any objection.

Thank you. Thank you. Any further comment from the history? Yes.

So, yes, I'd say that the parties they're referring to are from 511 and not from our house. I think we've had 1 party. Big party, and I think the 1 they're talking about is we did have a. We've had, I've had 1 party that use that deck in any way in the last calendar year and. It was for my son goes to Ladue High School. It was a homecoming party. And that's the only party that we've had. And they were out playing. He's on the soccer team. So they were playing soccer in the yard, I think is what she might be referring to. But we just we haven't had any big parties. And, you know. OK, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Any other comments or questions?

Chairman, I don't know. Because I know the Durbin's very well. They're an elderly couple that still live at that house and they have that back area pretty well landscaped in there. And then we've had construction here at 9501 and that area has been cleared. It's been re-landscaped and such. And the only thing I'm noting just pending, you know, because there is a pool here at 511. There's also a pool at 537 in there. We can always look at, you know, on call requests. if there was quite a bit of volume. But you know, check up on the property owners here every once in a while, what not aware of, of any, you know, any concerns now they've been asleep to at that time. So it's an elderly couple that lives there. Yes.

Any questions? So This has been an issue for a long time. The city, and even when I sat up here as your elected official, If you have an issue, the best thing to do is to call the police department. They have to come out. You filed a complaint. So, you know, I just want to remind you that, you know, if there's going to be noisy stuff going on, they're entitled to have that noisy stuff until a certain time period. So, you know, those are the rules that we can go by. Those are the rules the police department can go by. So, you know, with regard to that, you haven't taken those steps. I understand from sitting up here, neighbors are afraid, you know, neighbors want to get along. But again, if something like a huge bonfire, because that's what caught my attention, huge bonfire, you know, that needs to be reported immediately because wind and fire can impact other neighbors. So, You know, I'm grateful that the lady in the back clarified that that was not you. We have the right to enjoy our property, you know, with friends and family. So, again, my issue is only if it's really that scary, call the police and then I'll give it back.

What's not clear to me that was the bonfire at your home.

We have a fire pit in the backyard. We could have been.

Is that the bonfire being mentioned? Okay.

It has nothing to do with the deck, but there is a bonfire down in the, you know, or a fire pit.

So this is not a misidentification.

Please step up to the microphone.

This is not a misidentification. It actually was at your house.

I know we have a fire pit. Okay. So an important clarification. We seem to be talking about conduct of people rather than the actual property.

And you're right.

Yes. And that's beyond our view. Yes. So, so I wanted to say, right.

Any further comments?

Do we have any, they came to mail, nobody online and no correspondence or calls were received, sir.

Okay, is there any other comments or questions before we close the session?

all right session is closed i'll lead off okay so with the street uh with the bump out or i guess a bump in with respect to this property i think we'd probably find that it probably is a unique condition from that perspective from a practical difficulty um an eight foot deck does not really accommodate much. I mean, you can still use it, but it's not the practical use that one would probably expect, especially for the type of property values that we have in this area. So I do see that. I'm happy to hear that the deck size would be the same or slightly smaller. than the existing property in that the existing deck does not appear in and of itself to be impacting the neighbors, whereas maybe the conduct of adolescents and even adults may distinguish all of that. I don't see how replacing a deck the same size with a composite versus wood, which is actually more fireproof or fire retardant or whatever the word is, would would actually, it seems to be a favorable material change as it relates to the adequate supply of light. I mean, I don't see a really change in that. Congestion of public streets, I don't see anything there. Public danger, fire safety, I don't see it. I mean, again, if the argument is that you, by having a large deck, you facilitate larger parties, well, the alternative is they just maintain the same size deck and they could have the same number of people on it. So I don't really see a change there. And I don't really see an adjustment or impact on any of the property values on any of the surrounding areas. So those are my comments to you. Missy.

I agree. And the deck actually is going to be a little bit smaller with what they're going to build. And given the bump out of the street and the history, the history that is behind it, there is a bit of a nonconforming to their lot. You do not intend on cutting down the greenery that is Okay, okay, okay. I think this particular lot and the fact that they are actually lessening the size of the deck, yes, the lot size and the street angle do create that need for consideration of a variance. And at this point in time, I understand it. And I would support giving you the variance at this time.

Right. I would echo all the same comments is this is The issues that were brought up about conduct are not part of this discussion. We're talking about whether the deck itself causes any issue to any neighbor, not how many people are outside or what's being done on the deck. And the fact that the deck is being made smaller and is not going even farther beyond where it is now, I'd be in favor of it.

I concur with the other three members of the committee. I think particularly since the deck is somewhat smaller, and really, to me, it's sort of irrelevant whether that's like, if in fact there are parties or whatever going on, it really is none of our authority to deal with. And the size of a deck has nothing to do with that. So I think that's a good point. Any other further discussion?

And again, my comments on behavior was focused to call the police. It wasn't for us. That's what our law enforcement's here for.

And they don't got a lot to do. They don't have a lot to do. Can I have a motion? I guess I'll write that myself.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Okay.

A motion of honor.

Oh, and this guy here, too.

Yeah, I'll read this. Right in front of him. Motion to grant a rear yard setback variance of no more than 8.5 feet along the West rear yard property line for replacing the existing deck as illustrated in the plans dated September 9th, 2021 with green overlay representing the deck replacement. All right, are you discussing the motion?

Do we need a second? We need a second. All right. Could you read the roll please? Yes, is for the motion, by the way. Make sure to click.

Yeah. Carlos, hit your microphone.

Board Member Weinstock?

Yes.

Board Member Waldman?

Yes.

Board Member Noble?

Yes, approved.

And board members to 0, yes. So the motion passes unanimously 4 to 0, so the variance is granted the next step in the process would be to apply for the building permits. I know we've traded plans back and forth, but we haven't officially applied for the construction specs. Those need to be come in and then be reviewed by the inspection staff.

Okay.

All right. Chairman, I have no additional meeting minutes in there, and any additional questions, I'll be glad to answer.

Are there any updates you might want to make?

We will have two new members. I do want to announce this is going to be Mr. Weinstock's last meeting. as a closing coming up and it's been a pleasure to work with you the past five years. It was perfect five year service to the community. So everybody here, I urge you to consider the city's always looking for members to participate or volunteer on our boards and commissions. Uh, council just went through that, uh, interviews last week. And again, we should have two new members. So I may set up a special meeting probably around October, just to kind of introduce everybody, uh, back again. And, uh, And at this point, I'm not aware of any other variances coming up.

What about any development stuff? Anything you can share with us?

Well, if you've seen the new sign on I-170, it indicates that we do have a new restaurant that's coming to Olivet. They're at Olive Crossing. It is the Texas Roadhouse. And they put up their signage. And of course, the hotel has been approved. We're still waiting for them to apply for the boating permits. In that area, there should be one more restaurant that has not been named yet, and I think that will probably follow up in that process. Irvington Place had a grand opening today that was open to the public. I went there. Yes, great, great. And they're a nice facility. And then outside of that, those are the major developments if there's any specific problem. Oh, and of course, we're getting a hardware store. Rick Ace Hardware will probably open in the end of July and they'll have a grand opening on Labor Day. Thank you, Carlos. Absolutely. Yes.

I have a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second. We're adjourned.

Thank you all.