The Development Appeals Board has denied a request from a homeowner who wanted to construct additions to his detached garage that would have vastly exceeded the zoning bylaw regulations.
The board met on July 20 to hear the appeal from Clive Tolley at 815 Willow Avenue, who had submitted a request for a zoning variance to city hall on June 25. City hall reviewed his request and rejected it on June 29.
The board provided its final report to city council, which unanimously voted to receive and file the report during the Aug. 9 regular meeting.
Board members heard that Tolley wanted to build two additions to either side of the existing 70-square-metre (753-square-foot) detached garage, which would create a combined accessory building size of 141.3 square metres (1,521 square feet), contrary to the 83.6-square-metre (900-square-feet) stipulation in the zoning bylaw, the report explained. Furthermore, the combined floor area of the accessory building would be larger than the floor area of the main dwelling/house.
The subject property is a residential lot measuring 125 feet by 100 feet and is zoned as R1 large-lot low-density residential district, which is covered under the zoning bylaw.
Tolley told the board that the additions would make the garage more useful by accommodating a vehicle enclosure at the south end and a garden shed with a roof over a barbecue and wood storage area at the north end, the report continued. However, since the lot is large, the total building coverage “would be a relatively small part of the total lot.”
City officials told the board that, among other things, approving an accessory building that is 32-per-cent larger than the main dwelling would be concerning since such approval would set a new precedent for accessory building sizes in the R1 and other residential districts.
After reviewing the situation, the Development Appeals Board denied Tolley’s request for three reasons:
- The request would be a special privilege since the board would not grant a similar variance to any other applicant in similar circumstances
- The request would be contrary to the bylaw since it would set a precedent for accessory building sizes in the R1 and other residential districts and would be significantly larger than what the zoning bylaw allows, especially for accessory buildings larger than the main dwelling
- While the request would not “injuriously affect the neighbouring properties,” the appeals board still determined it had to deny the appeal
The next regular city council meeting is Monday, Aug. 23.
