Lakewood Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - February 20, 2025
Lakewood Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - February 20, 2025
The Board of Zoning Appeals met on February 20, 2025, at 11:45 AM to consider four variance applications and one appeal. All board members were present except Anthony Santiago (excused). The meeting began with roll call, approval of the January 16, 2025 minutes, and opening remarks.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Martin Brett (2139 Glenbury Avenue) opposed the garage variance at 2143 Glenbury, citing concerns about increased structure size, shadowing, and lack of time to gather opposition letters.
- Steve Dever, attorney for John and Eileen Gallagher (neighbors to the east of 17852 Lake Road), opposed the side-yard variance, arguing that the addition would be imposing, block views, and harm property values. He requested denial or deferral for neighbor discussions.
Discussion Items
- Docket 4-0101-25 (1464 Riverside Drive): Applicant Jeremy Dotson (general contractor) presented a revised plan after incorporating board feedback from the previous meeting. The new design reduced the number of variances from four to two (lot coverage and combined side yard). The existing garage was removed, and a new attached two-car garage (approx. 450 sq ft) was added, with the house moved forward to comply with front setback. The lot coverage would be 46% (variance from 35%), but would drop below 35% if the garage were detached. The board praised the improvements and unanimously approved both variances.
- Docket 02-02-25 (1052 Edgewater Lane): Applicant Francis Harding requested a height variance from 10 feet to 11 feet 1 inch for a proposed shed in the northwest corner of the property. The shed was intended for storage, with a loft and taller door. Three letters of support from neighbors were submitted. The board noted that a larger detached garage could be built by right in the same location. No opposition was voiced. The board unanimously approved the variance.
- Docket 02-03-25 (Appeal of Solicitor's Permit Denial): Applicant Chris Brenner appealed the denial of his solicitor's permit due to a false statement on the application about a 20-year-old criminal conviction. He explained he rushed and misunderstood the seven-year rule. City code does not disqualify applicants based on convictions older than five years for qualifying offenses. The board found the error was not material and reversed the denial unanimously.
- Docket 02-04-25 (2143 Glenbury Avenue): Applicant Maya Camheigh requested a variance to build a 22x26 foot garage (572 sq ft) replacing an existing 20x25 foot (500 sq ft) garage. The lot is undersized (4,800 sq ft vs. 5,000 sq ft minimum), and the existing garage already exceeds the 480 sq ft limit. The new garage would be placed in the same footprint but slightly larger to accommodate modern vehicles and storage. Public comment from neighbor Martin Brett opposed the size increase and height (though height conformed). The board determined the increase was modest and approved the variance (3-0).
- Docket 02-05-25 (17852 Lake Road): Applicant Dave Maddox, architect, sought side-yard variances of 1 foot 4 inches for the minimum setback (proposed 8 ft 8 in vs. required 10 ft) and 6 feet 4 inches for the combined setback (proposed 19 ft 8 in vs. required 25 ft) for a two-story addition. The project included a kitchen expansion, mudroom, dining room, and porch, adding 575 sq ft first-floor, 216 sq ft second-floor, and 156 sq ft outdoor space. Similar variances were granted in 2022 but not acted upon. The neighbors' attorney, Steve Dever, objected, arguing the addition would be imposing on the Gallagher property. After discussion, the board unanimously granted a deferral to allow the applicants and neighbors to resolve differences.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approval of variance requests for 1464 Riverside Drive, 1052 Edgewater Lane, and 2143 Glenbury Avenue.
- Unanimous reversal of the denial of a solicitor's permit for Christopher Brenner.
- Unanimous deferral of the variance request for 17852 Lake Road to allow neighbor consultation.
- Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the City of Lakewood Board of Zoning Appeals meeting February 20th, 2025. The first item on the docket is the roll call. Miss Nocta, if you could please. Michael Alexander. Here. Gillian Bellino. Matt Markley. Jeffrey Piggett. Here. Anthony Santiago. Remind me again. Do we need to excuse his extraction? Anyone would like to motion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Number two on the document is the approval of the minutes from the January 16th, 2025 meeting. If everyone has had a chance to review those, we can make a motion to approve it this time. I'll make a motion to approve the January 16th, 2025 meeting minutes. Second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Item number three on the docket is the opening remarks. Mrs. Nocta, if you could please. Welcome to the Board of Zoning Appeals. For a variance to be granted, the board must get sufficient information from your presentation to determine if your property meets the practical difficulty test. All documents included with an application to the board and any addendas, statements, maps, diagrams, sketches, letters, photographs, or other materials proffered to the board by any person, shall be considered by the board prior to rendering its decision on the application. No permit shall be issued unless submitted plans conformed to those approved by the board. If modifications are made to the approved plans, a successive variance request must be filed and approved to account for the modification. For the record, please sign the form on the podium and state your name and address. This serves as an oath or affirmation that you will tell the truth before the board. We will now begin with the regular business of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Thank you, Miss Nocta. First item of old business is number four zero one zero one-two five six uh fourteen sixty-four Riverside Drive. If the applicant could please, applicant or representative, please come to the podium. Thanks. Sign in, state your name and relationship to the property, please. Jeremy Dotson, con general contractor, um for the client. Thank you. Um I know we saw you last month, but if you could um kind of give us a refresh and uh show what's changed since last time we saw we took uh and I apologize on behalf of the homeowner, she has slipped and hurt herself, so she's kind of out of commission, and um the architect is out with uh illness uh he's battling some personal issues. So you guys get me for till we get this ironed out. So um basically I went back at the last meeting and took everybody's input in uh from the board here from our meeting and went back with the homeowner and the architect to try to uh you know took in everybody's information, took in everybody's comments, got the homeowner and redeveloped and reworked and and and tried to utilize homeowners' needs to your guys' needs and and well, not what it needs, would be suggestions uh to your comments. So hopefully uh Mr. Fisher sent all that proper information in you guys had a chance to review it with the new lay with the new house layout. Um start off with removing the existing garage, which we're homeowner was trying to incorporate in the prior um designs. Um, you know, to kind of pick up what uh Justin had made mention in the meeting minutes that you know the existing footers and structure was probably inadequate to new building codes. Um and it was also I do believe Mr. Santiago was worried uh what some offsets and some concerns with the amount of space uh between the property line and the garage to enter the home.
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