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Home My WebLink AboutA001 - Letter from Jeff Bryant dated March 4, 2013 March 4, 2013 Madam Mayor and members of the Ames City Council My name is Jeff Bryant; I am a long time Ames resident and property owner. Several years ago I planned a property improvement project where I live in Ames. Not only did it require the proper building permits, it also required special zoning considerations. City staff guided me through the process for a zoning variance. The request was denied by strict adherence to the zoning code language. Although my individual case is rare, it is not entirely unique in Ames. I believe the case I made was very reasonable and the best approach to a set of physical characteristics that I have at my properties. I feel that you cannot apply the general zoning language to my particular circumstance. Recently I had an informal conversation with City staff regarding my proposed project. It was discussed that a zoning text amendment as it pertains to my exact set of circumstances maybe worth your consideration. Following is a description of my project for you to consider for a text amendment. I own and reside at 220 S Riverside Dr and also own 224 S Riverside Dr next door. My two properties were built around the 1920s, with a single shared driveway between the 2 houses, which leads to a shared 2 car garage. The garage straddles the lot line, with half of the garage belonging to one property, the other half to the other property. In the 20 years that I have owned these properties,this arrangement has worked well. The existing garage is currently working; however it is to the point where it needs some attention to its physical condition. It makes economic sense to remove the existing garage to build a new garage(s). A new structure would comply with building codes much easier than retrofitting the existing structure. Another factor is a new garage could be a size that would better accommodate modern vehicles. We first looked at replacing the current shared garage with two separate garages to adhere to side yard setback requirements. Given the narrow width of the driveway between the houses, the new garages would need to be placed much further back on the lots to accommodate the entry angle of a vehicle to get around the houses. It became apparent that two separate garages with driveways leading up to them would dominate the backyards. The space between the garages that would be created by the setbacks to the lot line, becomes a considerable amount of wasted space. Also,the space behind the garages cannot be viewed from the houses or effectively used. At that point, we started looking at the original design intent of the two properties. Having a shared driveway and a shared garage really works the best. Given the limited amount of distance between the homes and size of back yards,the common drive and garage is an efficient use of the properties lot size that maintains desired green space. We have proposed a new shared garage to replace the existing shared garage. The design of the new garage would match the character and scale of the property and neighborhood. With modern building materials, fire separation can be achieved, as well as other building code compliance. The concept is similar to shared garages with duplexes and townhomes. The abstracts for the two properties currently contain an agreement for a shared garage and driveway. We are asking for you to consider a zoning text amendment that would contain the necessary language to allow us to replace an existing common shared garage with a new common shared garage with no side yard setbacks. I have observed other shared driveway situations in other older Ames neighborhoods. One in particular was granted a building permit in 1991 for a shared common garage, much like we are proposing. Our situation is rare, but not totally unique. Thank you for your consideration, Jeff Bryant 220 S Riverside Dr Ames Attachments: elevations and site drawings ry' I ON / AllifiZ- 220 S Riverside Dr 224 S Riverside Dr JIFF r3j;\(ANT I E-LPj P,-n o N.f Z21) S. PWe'R'SIVE DR. LG AN-,,S IA Soo is 6ARA6E �LAI�1 L i rp �_ r, i 1 r LF i .2 2-� JUP KVYAN T- SITE PI_AfJ Ale e S• WVERstoE bR, I" = 20l AME5 /A SO010 6-5-o q ACTFRK.d TE 6ARA6E ALAIV 0oRTH Ut5-TINU NO POE IsEe 0 i1 I \ 2b-o" I51X_2b ISXZ_6 f 9, 11 I 37-0 i � j I 22o I I 224 z _Z20__ S _�1V�R_S�OE D(L S'ALC III = 20� PLPA Ct ,�I�"f�Rn1AtE G- (LAc p(-AN I « NAPLa 1% j i-D_ R�MoV_t. � 45�X2b� i i I i i c j I I 3t o�I i 220 2.2q iI P FROP MRPLF-7 r 1. TROFoSED f _2C9' X 30' I £X I S-rItjb 26-0 LL- -� Iqo-7 C)_h i i r -� i- 3b' K��_4�+ 37 20,� --