Submitted by: Holly Simmons
Submitting Department: Community & Economic Development
Agenda Section: Consent
Item Title:
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Zoning Variance Request: V-76-22 - 6117 42nd Avenue, Hyattsville (RECONSIDERATION 2)
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Suggested Action:
recommendation
I move the City Council authorize the Mayor to send correspondence to the Board of Zoning Appeals in support V-76-22 for the subject property at 6117 42nd Avenue, Hyattsville. The purpose of the zoning variance request is to validate existing conditions of side yard width and front yard depth and allow an excess in lot coverage to enable the approval of a building permit to allow for the construction of a one-story addition on an existing residential dwelling unit.
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Summary Background:
The applicant, Felix Rivas, has applied to the Prince George’s County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) for a zoning variance to validate existing conditions (side yard width and front yard depth) and to obtain a building permit for the construction of a second story addition on an existing dwelling.
The subject property includes an existing single-family detached residential structure and one shed structure. The property is split-zoned RMF-20 (Residential, MultiFamily - 20) and RSF-65 (Residential, Single-Family - 65). The Board of Zoning Appeals has determined that the appropriate zone for review of the variance is RSF-65. The subject property is located in City Council Ward 1 and is not located within a Residential Parking Zone.
This case was before the Council on January 3, 2023, and again on March 20, 2023.
• At the January 3 Council meeting, the petitioner was requesting two variances to validate existing conditions (side yard width and front yard depth) to obtain a building permit for the construction of a second story addition on an existing dwelling. City Council voted in support of the request.
• The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) heard the case on January 11, 2023, at which time they identified a net lot coverage variance was needed to address the existing excess parking to the rear of the dwelling. The BZA readvertised the case for March 22, 2023, and referred the case back to the City for review.
• At the March 20, 2023, Council meeting, the site plan and application was revised to include an 18% lot coverage variance request. The petitioner proposed to pave a 1,153sf area to the rear of the dwelling to formalize the rear parking area. City Council voted to oppose the request.
• The BZA heard the case on March 22, but did not make a decision. On April 18, 2023, the BZA referred the case to the City a third time via a letter included in Council’s packet, requesting that the City work with the petitioner to “find a resolution”.
• Through coordination with the City, the petitioner has revised their site plan to reflect the accurate existing lot coverage (60%) and to reconfigure and revise the proposed development to reduce the proposed lot coverage to 44.66%. The resulting variance request is for 9.66% net lot coverage. The current development proposal includes removing 1,720sf of gravel parking. In its place, the petitioner proposes to revegetate 1,188sf and install 532sf of pervious parking. The revegetated area is not considered lot coverage, but the pervious parking is considered lot coverage.
Historically, the BZA has referred variance cases to the City with hearing dates already set. The BZA’s pre-established timelines typically leave only three to five days for City staff to perform a case review; however, it is difficult to perform a thorough review and impossible to coordinate any corrections to errors on site plans or revisions to development proposals in this time. Further, the BZA has recently taken an informal position that, if a municipality opposes a variance case, they will not approve the request but will instead refer the case back to the municipality for reconsideration. These circumstances have led to variance cases being sent back to the City multiple times.
The subject case and one other (V-57-22, which will be back before the Council at a future Council meeting) led City staff to convene a meeting with BZA staff to discuss these issues and their impact on the City and its residents. Upon City staff’s request, BZA staff has agreed to provide the City with additional time to coordinate variance review for cases going forward. Staff anticipates this change will improve the process and enable staff to better serve City residents.
Next Steps:
No additional action is required.
Fiscal Impact:
N/A
City Administrator Comments:
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Community Engagement:
A BZA hearing date is tentatively scheduled for June 14.
Strategic Goals:
Goal 1 - Ensure Transparent and Accessible Governance
Legal Review Required?
N/A