Tempe Board of Adjustments Meeting – April 29, 2026: Variance Approvals for Broadway Lane Properties
Tempe Board of Adjustments Meeting – April 29, 2026
The City of Tempe Board of Adjustments met on April 29, 2026, at 6:00 PM to consider two variance requests for properties at 100 and 106 East Broadway Lane, both seeking to increase front yard wall height from 4 to 7 feet. The board also approved prior meeting minutes and voted to hold an executive session.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the March 25, 2026 study session and regular meeting minutes by unanimous vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Art Gadet, a nearby property owner of 30 years, opposed the 7-foot wall height, stating that 6 feet is adequate unless the property is on a very busy street. He noted his own property has a 6-foot maximum. The applicant clarified the properties directly front Broadway Road, with 25,000+ vehicles per day.
Discussion Items
- Variance Requests (100 & 106 East Broadway Lane): The applicant, Bill Thomson, a registered landscape architect and 56-year Tempe resident, explained the walls were built based on a mistaken property line (he believed the line was at the back of the sidewalk, but it was 5 feet north). Both walls are 12 feet from the property line and within the 7-foot height limit. Staff (Senior Planner Karen Stovall) recommended approval, citing special circumstances: the lots front Broadway Lane directly adjacent to Broadway Road (arterial with >25,000 vehicles/day), making the location unusual for single-family uses. A neighborhood meeting in February 2026 drew 8 attendees in support plus 2 emails.
- For 100 East Broadway, the applicant proposed a peephole (fisheye lens) instead of a 12x12 window in the pedestrian gate to maintain tenant privacy. Staff indicated the board could modify the condition. For 106 East Broadway, the applicant requested to permanently weld the gate open (currently broken and always open) rather than install a window. Staff expressed concern about future modification and preferred gate removal or a window.
Key Outcomes
- Variance for 100 East Broadway Lane: Approved unanimously (all ayes). The board modified Condition of Approval #2, removing the 12x12 window requirement and replacing it with a fisheye peephole to ensure pedestrian safety while maintaining tenant privacy.
- Variance for 106 East Broadway Lane: Approved unanimously. The board upheld the original conditions as stated in the staff report, requiring a window in the pedestrian gate rather than allowing the gate to remain permanently open, to ensure long-term compliance and pedestrian safety.
- Executive Session: The board voted unanimously to hold an executive session following the regular meeting.
Meeting Transcript
It is six PM. I'm calling the meeting to order. Um this is the Board of Adjustments. Welcome to the City of Tempe Board of Adjustments meeting for April 29th, 2026. The time is now six o'clock PM. The City of Board, the City of Tempe Board of Adjustments is authorized by the Arizona revised statutes, and the City of Tempe zone zoning ordinance. Its function is to grant relief where literal enforcement of the zoning ordinance would result in an unnecessary property hardship to interpret provisions of the zoning ordinance variances and to hear appeals from any person or city official aggrieved the decision of a person responsible for the enforcement of zoning ordinances. Zoning administrator and hearing officer Batemans. Staff summary reports on the items being considered at this meeting, and we'll use these this report in their deliberations. Uh starting with Andrew. Andrea Samishka here. Lily Drosso's here. Mary Foy here. Katie Cross here. Robert Miller here. Uh, online. Brett Siegel. Sean McCarthy present. And we have two members online. We do have a quorum. Uh tonight we have uh a consideration of meeting meeting minutes for last meeting, uh March twenty-fifth, twenty twenty-six. Are there any uh additions or adjustments that need to be made? A movement uh meeting do we have a motion to adopt the meetings from the study session from three twenty-five twenty-six and the regular meeting from three twenty-five twenty-six. Do we have a second? I'll second. Thank you. Any opposed the meetings from last uh meeting from March twenty-fifth, twenty twenty-six study session and regular meeting have been adopted. Um today we are hearing two variants requests. Uh I think we have the same person presenting. Um before we get to that, I am gonna announce the introduction of staff that is present. I don't believe they're all here. Do I need to put their names in? If they're not here. Okay. Um, we have Eric Anderson, city attorney. No, we have Diane Kaminsky, Jennifer Daniels, Karen Stovell, Eddie Garcia. Oh, that's Ryan. Oh gosh. Ryan LeBec. Uh, as staff that are here today. Um we have Bill Ton Tonason, who is presenting for the two uh Varent requests, uh, one for one hundred east Broadway Lane, the other for a hundred and six East Broadway Lane. Uh Bill, if you would like to come up and present it this time. Hello. Do I need a microphone? No. Yes, you do. I do? Yep. Hello? What microphone is that?
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