HomeMy WebLinkAboutRequest to Reclaim Authority of Woerlein Single Housing Residency, Garage.pdf
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Allyson Bristor, Associate Planner
Tim McHarg, Planning Director
SUBJECT: Jurisdiction of a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) with a Deviation
application, known as Woerlein SHR/Garage (#Z-11213), for the construction of a new two-
story, single-household residence with an attached garage on the vacant property addressed as
515 West College Street.
MEETING DATE: August 22, 2011
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action Item
RECOMMENDATION: Staff is requesting the City Commission to reclaim to itself the final
approval of the Woerlein SHR/Garage Certificate of Appropriateness with a Deviation
application (#Z-11213) for the property addressed as 515 West College Street, per Section
18.64.010 C.1 of the B.M.C., and further set a tentative public hearing date of August 29, 2011
for formal consideration of the application proposal.
RECOMMENDED MOTION: Based upon the justification supplied in the Staff memo, I
move to reclaim jurisdiction of the Woerlein SHR/Garage Certificate of Appropriateness
with a Deviation application proposed for the property addressed as 515 West College
Street. I further move to set the Woerlein application’s public hearing date to August 29,
2011.
BACKGROUND: Property owners Christof and Gesche Woerlein and applicant Ed Adamson
of Bozeman Building Traditions submitted a Certificate of Appropriateness with a Deviations
application requesting the construction of a new two-story, single-household residence with an
attached garage on the vacant property addressed as 515 West College Street.
A previous variance application for the property was heard by the Board of Adjustment (BOA)
on June 14, 2011. The BOA voted 3-2 to approve the previous variance application. However
pursuant to Sec. 76-3-324 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), the concurring votes of four
BOA members is required to approve a variance application. Subsequent to the BOA vote on the
previous application, Staff erred in applying this procedural requirement and failed to inform the
applicant that the variance application had been denied. Staff regrets this error.
The current variance application was submitted after working with Staff to determine the most
appropriate means to address the error.
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Some changes have occurred to the original residence’s design in the variance application
considered by the BOA, specifically to the front (south) elevation. Those changes are
incorporated in the materials with the current application. The COA application requires one
deviation, from BMC Section18.16.050.A.1.b, “Yards,” to allow the new single-household
residence, including a front covered porch and steps, to encroach into the required 20-foot front
yard setback. College Street is classified as a collector street as designated in the Bozeman
growth policy.
Because Staff erred in applying the procedural requirement for affirmative BOA action and
failed to inform the applicant that the variance application had been denied, we find it more
appropriate for the new application to be reviewed by the City Commission. The applicant is
under significant time constraints and it is more expeditious to bring the new application to the
Commission for review and approval rather than waiting for the next regularly scheduled BOA
meeting in mid-September.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None at this time.
ALTERNATIVES: The City Commission may choose to not reclaim jurisdiction of the
Woerlein SHR/Garage Certificate of Appropriateness with a Deviation application, and
therefore, the Board of Adjustment would be the final decision making body.
FISCAL EFFECTS: The standard application fee was waived due to Staff’s error.
Attachments: None.
Memo compiled on: August 11, 2011
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