2026-09-16 - Board of Appeals

00:02.59] Good evening. My name is Alan Frankel, and I am the chair of the City of Rockville Board of Appeals. [00:09.95] With me at the dais this evening are to my left [member] and to my right Roy

Deitchman. [00:19.62] We are here this evening at meeting number 03-2026, and our first order of business is a variance application. [00:33.94] 2027-402-VAR, concerning a variance for a side yard

setback at Lee Court. [00:49.81] If you are going to participate in this hearing this evening by video, please be advised that during the pandemic, the Board of Appeals came up with a set of rules

that have now been codified into our rules. [01:11.15] And it is assumed that you are familiar with them. Um, Mr. Waslick, sorry, you're not here with us this evening. [01:23.49] Um, so let's get

started. This is a presentation by our planner, [planner]. So, Mr. Was, Mr. Waslick, if you would please swear in [planner] so that he can tell us about this variance. [01:43.55] Uh, yes, thank you,

Mr. Chair. [planner], could you identify yourself for the record? Yes, [planner] with community planning and development services. [01:53.82] And will you provide truthful testimony this evening? Uh,

I will. Great. Please proceed. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board. [02:06.26] Um, as Mr. Chair indicated, this is a variance application for the subject property located at Lee

Court. As you can see, the subject property is outlined in blue on the screen. It's located at Lee Court, which is approximately at the intersection of Lee Court and Warfield Drive. [02:32.42] This is

in the Whitley Gardens area of the city. Um, it has a land use status designation of single family residential detached and a zoning, uh, distinction of R90 corresponding with, uh, one of the city's

residential zoning districts. [02:54.61] The specific proposal by the applicant this evening is a zoning variance from the side yard setback requirements in order to convert an existing carport, uh,

located on the property into a full, fully enclosed one car garage. [03:12.62] The applicant's proposed site plan is shown here on the screen. Um, as you can see, uh, the property is improved with a

one story dwelling. Um, as part of the applicant's proposal to improve the dwelling, um, notably, uh, the livability of the site, um, several improvements are proposed, [03:32.08] including a one

story addition to the front of the home, as you can see in the dark gray, um, along with a covered porch to the front entry. Um, uh, we'll like to note that that those improvements are not included in

the subject requests for the variance this evening. [03:49.67] Um, the request this evening is specific to the enclosure for the proposed garage. As you can see, that'll be, uh, an addition to the

side of the existing dwelling. Um, and we'll partially encroach into the side yard setback necessitating the variance requests this evening. [04:08.09] Um, stash recommendation is approval with

conditions. So, as you can see here on the screen, uh, here is a street view of the approximate existing conditions. Um, as you can see from the front elevation, the property is improved with the one

story dwelling and the attached carport, um, as you'll note, uh, carports are pretty common to this area. [04:37.78] Most of the existing dwellings in the surrounding neighborhood are improved with

the side entry carports. Um, and so the applicant's proposal is basically to enclose that area and slightly encroach to the photo east, um, in order to make those improvements in the one, uh, car

garage. [05:01.41] Here is the street view of the, or a, a, a level view of the rear yard of the property. Um, what should be noted here is the unique, uh, topography on the property. Um, as we just

saw from the front elevation, the property appears as a one story above grade dwelling. [05:22.12] Um, but as you can see the topography slopes, uh, down quite notably to the rear, which allows for a

second story, uh, lower level, um, in the rear, uh, of the property. [05:38.62] So here is a proposed front elevation of the dwelling. Here you can see the proposed improvements, including the front

addition, as well as that, uh, side attached enclosed garage. [05:53.36] Um, as you can see, the applicant has, um, uh, proposed to incorporate that garage with a similar roof line and gable design

for the roof to really make the improvements, um, feel homogenous to the existing dwelling. [06:13.22] Here is a west elevation of the proposed dwelling. Um, as you can see, you can get a sense of the

side elevation of that new garage. And also, um, this view also gives the benefit of seeing that elevation change towards the rear, um, which in staff's review, um, showed a, uh, a reasonable

improvement over alternatives, [06:40.16] including, uh, considering a detached garage in the rear, um, not having to need, uh, to navigate those, those, uh, steep grades, um, in the rear yard.

06:55.68] So specific to this request, uh, section 25 7.1.4 of the zoning ordinance requires, uh, a 11 foot side yard setback in the R 90 zone. [07:08.83] And, uh, the applicant specific request is a

variance of two and a half feet in order to complete the, uh, one car garage addition. [07:21.15] In review of the subject application, staff has found that the applicant application meets the

required standards for granting the variance. [07:30.11] Notably, uh, finding number one that the requests for the variance is the result of conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of

any action taken by the applicant. [07:40.95] Um, as you can see, um, and as noted on the site contour map shown here on the screen, uh, the subject property, um, is encumbered by unique conditions.

07:51.60] Um, notably the, uh, property shape is quite unique as compared to the others, um, when looking at the conditions of this property, uh, you can see the side property lines narrow as you

move from the front of the property to the rear, uh, which creates limitations on where proposed improvements can go. [08:12.76] Um, combining that with the, uh, topography, the change in topography

as noted before, um, creates, um, some practical challenges in putting a alternative detached garage in the rear yard. [08:26.49] Um, so staff has reviewed the subject requests and found the

combination of those factors peculiar to this property and are not the result of actions taken by the owner. [08:40.10] Moving on to finding two, that literal application of this chapter would result

in the practical difficulty, um, as noted, the unique, uh, conditions on this site would make the proposed, um, improvement of the attached car, uh, garage prohibitive, uh, uh, without approval of a

variance. [08:58.28] Um, in addition, staff has found that granting this variance would allow the applicant use of the property similar to others in the neighborhood. [09:08.08] Uh, most notably, if

you, uh, view, uh, adjacent properties along Warfield Drive, they are improved with either side carports or garages attached to the home. [09:19.52] So this would be consistent with the neighborhood

character. [09:26.63] Uh, finding three, that the variance has requested would not be contrary to the public interests. [09:31.59] Um, staff notes that the improvements will be similar in scale and

massings to others in the neighborhood. [09:37.75] And as noted with the proposed elevations, the applicant's design does try to, um, be consistent with the existing architecture. [09:47.00] Um,

furthermore, staff has not received any letters of opposition to this request. [09:51.96] And as indicated in the staff report and materials, um, the applicant has received support from the adjacent

property owner for this proposal. [10:03.49] And finally, finding four, the granting of the variance is consistent with the purposes of the zoning ordinance. [10:08.89] Um, notably this relief is due

to site characteristics, um, inherent to the property. [10:14.81] And as noted, it would improve livability and residential use of this property, um, consistent with the comprehensive plan and other

adopted plans for this area. [10:27.68] So with that, Mr. [10:28.88] Chair, uh, staff recommends approval of the variance application 2027402, the AR, to allow a side yard setback of eight and a half

feet in lieu of the required [10:40.40] 11 feet representing a two and a half foot variance for the subject and proposed conversion of the existing carport into a garage subject to the findings and

conditions and staff's report. [10:53.84] Um, and with that, Mr. [10:54.68] Chair, that concludes staff's presentation. [10:56.80] Uh, happy to answer any questions you have. [10:58.77] Thank you very

much, [11:00.43] [planner], for your usual thorough report. [11:03.59] Do any members of the board of appeals have any questions for [11:07.02] [planner], Mr. [11:07.90] Deutschman, um, in the

immediate neighborhood, have we granted any other variances for carport to garage conversions? [11:16.32] You know, uh, staff did not identify any, uh, similar request in the immediate neighborhood,

but as the board may be aware, we have granted similar requests, um, in other areas of the city. [11:29.05] [11:29.41] [member], [11:30.21] [planner], fantastic job. [11:31.25] Once again, uh, does

the existing carport already sit two and a half feet into the setback? [11:36.25] No, the existing carport complies with the setback. [11:39.39] The new garage would go a little bit wider than the

existing carport. [11:43.71] Correct. [11:44.19] Correct. [11:44.55] And from, uh, staff's review, that is just to allow for safe and access to and from vehicles that would be car parked. [11:51.75]

Thank you. [11:52.97] Um, [11:54.45] [planner], could you go back to slide three, please? [12:24.93] Oh, I guess slide four. [12:26.37] Oh, sorry. [12:27.28] Yes. [12:28.37] I want the one that has

the picture of the house, that one. [12:31.25] There we go. [12:31.81] Because in our package, that view is taken so that the bush is in front of the carport. [12:42.31] Um, so what you're saying is

that the homeowner could not enclose the, enclose the carport with the garage without having to have the variance. [13:00.66] It has to be wider than the carport. [13:03.46] Yes, that's staff's

understanding from the materials presented, uh, to fully enclose and allow vehicle access around a vehicle. [13:12.04] It's just what that slight encroachment is needed. [13:15.42] Thank you very

much. [13:16.41] I have no further questions. [13:17.77] Anyone have further questions? [13:20.43] Okay. [13:20.87] Then we will ask the applicant if she is online, I presume, um, to come forward and

state her name. [13:32.10] Hello, I'm here. [13:33.18] I'm actually on the phone. [13:35.27] Okay, that's fine. [13:37.62] Um, yeah, I'm [applicant]. [13:39.50] Nice to meet everybody. [13:41.86] How

do you do? [13:43.31] Welcome to the board of appeals. [13:44.95] Are you going to give testimony tonight? [13:48.53] Thank you. [13:49.37] Um, sure. [13:51.00] What shall I say? [13:52.60] Okay.

13:53.20] Well, first we need to have Mr. [13:55.00] Waslick, um, swear you win. [13:59.85] Okay. [14:01.13] [applicant], you have identified yourself for the record. [14:03.89] Uh, will you provide

truthful testimony this evening? [14:07.43] Yes, I will. [14:08.98] Great. [14:09.26] Please proceed. [14:10.35] The only thing that you need to do is tell us anything more that you think we should

know about the proposed garage that's requiring the variance beyond what [14:29.71] [planner] has already told us. [14:31.69] And you can say, I don't have anything to add, or you may have thoughts

about what you might like to add. [14:38.31] Um, I think she did a great job in explaining the need for the variance or the widening of the current carport, like where it is right now to build the

actual garage. [14:51.65] Um, I guess the only thing to add too, is that we have a huge SUV. [14:56.20] Um, we have kids, you know, um, in the future, we're hoping to get, um, an electric vehicle.

15:03.08] And so widening it, widening it, um, just, uh, uh, based on the standard size right now, [15:11.89] widening it would allow us to, um, have those things and it would be a little bit more,

um, useful. [15:19.54] Okay. [15:20.68] To move around. [15:21.79] So that's all. [15:23.83] Thank you very much. [15:24.87] Does any members of the board of appeals have any questions from

[applicant]? [15:29.19] Mr. [15:29.55] Deitchman. [15:30.31] Yes, is the depth of the carport sufficient, um, or does it has to be, does it have to be made longer along with wider? [15:38.08] Uh, no.

15:40.65] So we've chosen, my architect chose, um, we asked for more storage in the current garage where it is. [15:48.44] So yes, we are going to make it a little deeper, um, to store, you know,

bicycles and things like that, uh, lawn materials. [15:57.87] So we will be extending it behind as well. [16:02.49] Thank you. [16:05.07] Any other questions? [16:07.82] Okay. [16:08.42] Thank you

very much, [applicant]. [16:10.61] Welcome to the board. [16:11.95] You're very welcome. [16:13.47] Um, now I know we have a letter in here, um, from [neighbors] at [address], who are your appear to

be your closest neighbors, um, in support of the variance. [16:32.48] I don't see anybody in the audience here to speak either in favor of or against the variance. [16:40.84] Mr. [16:41.20] Waslick,

do you see anybody online or have you received any other, uh, communication either for or against this variance? [16:51.11] Mr. [16:51.43] Chair, we have not received, uh, any other communications.

16:54.53] I would note that there is one individual who is also participating by phone potentially is the architect for the project, I believe. [17:01.81] Okay. [17:02.45] Well, then let's hear from

the architect. [17:07.60] Um, Miss architect, I'm not sure if I architected. [17:13.03] Okay, there, I think it might be, um, [project manager], who is the project manager. [17:18.83] It's okay.

17:19.77] There were any specific questions about the construction. [17:23.38] Okay, then I'm going to assume that there are no people further to speak either in favor of or against this variance and

I'm going to declare the public hearing closed. [17:38.98] And we will now deliberate. [17:40.88] [17:41.37] [member], Mr. [17:44.42] Chair, as we were saying, as we've joined, um, one of the more

clear cut cases, uh, no objection, the existing carports, obviously they're under just asking to fit a vehicle into an enclosure. [17:54.82] So thank you. [17:57.35] Yes, I was concerned with the

width, but clearly with a medium to large size car, you need to open up the doors and you can't get a carport. [18:05.60] So I think that answered the one question I had with the need for the

variance. [18:09.60] I have to see nominal compared to other variances. [18:12.76] Yes, and I mean, it's 2 and a half feet. [18:16.45] Um, no, I agree. I think this is, uh, this is an obvious

situation where variances needed. [18:27.03] It meets with all of the requirements of law and, um, the chair would request, um, a motion, uh, in favor of variance application. [18:43.78] 2027 that's

for to VAR for a side yard setback of 8.5 feet and move the required 11 feet, um, for the garage at Lee Court subject to the condition set forth and staff's report. [19:04.08] I second that motion.

19:06.58] Um, all those in favor signify by saying aye aye aye. [19:11.44] Any opposed okay, the variance application for 2027-402-VAR for zoning variance for a side yard setback of 8.5 feet and move

the required 11 feet, uh, to create a to a recta garage at Lee Court, um, be and hereby is approved. [19:35.92] Congratulations, [applicant]. I wish you all the best of luck in your construction.

19:42.46] Great, thank you guys so much for approving it and we're just very excited to get the project started. So, I appreciate your time and maybe you get some of it done before the winter. Yes.

19:55.09] And go buy that electric car. [20:00.57] Don't do it. No, absolutely do it. We have one. We'd love it. Oh, do it. Okay. Yes, do it. Okay. Okay. Yeah. That's what we're planning on in the

near future. So good. Good. Okay. [20:17.08] Is there any old business to come before the board of appeals this evening? Is there any new business to come before the board of appeals this evening?

20:27.69] Mr. Chair, if I could jump in just for a moment. So, I wanted to note to the board that the city attorney's office is transitioning its assignments to some extent. [20:37.45] And so, um,

moving forward, I will not be advising the board of appeals any longer. [20:42.51] Um, I did want to let you know that it's been, it's been many years that I've been sitting with you and it's always

been a privilege and a pleasure. [20:48.71] So, I really appreciate that. Um, I wanted to introduce our new attorney who just started this week, [attorney], she's online right now and I'll let her say

hello. [20:58.28] But she joined us from the city of New York and is, um, and we're very excited to have her. We feel very lucky we were able to get her on board and we're looking forward to working

with her. [21:07.01] So, I'll let [attorney] say hello. Good evening. Welcome to the board of appeals. Good evening. Thank you. Very nice to see and meet everyone. And I look forward to working with

you all in the future. [21:18.52] So, why did you come here from New York? Um, my husband and I moved down here. He had a job opportunity down here. So. Okay. Well, we will look forward to seeing you

next month and the months after when we have work to do in the old. [21:34.65] Yeah, we got a lot more work to do. Yep. So, welcome and good luck. Thank you. Thank you so much. [attorney], it is

really been a pleasure to have worked with you over the 8 years, which I can't believe. [21:54.85] You, you are, you were our 3rd council and I know that you have worked hard on our behalf. You've had

to litigate on our behalf and it's it's always nice to have you here at our meeting. [22:09.90] So we wish you the best of luck with those other lesser boards or commissions and and we'll see you

around rock. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for letting us know that. [22:25.46] And we are, we are taking notes on which boards we should be transferring to. That's right. That's right. Some

that have maybe more meetings. [22:37.62] Okay. It's everybody had a chance to review the minutes of meeting number 2 dash 2026 that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th, 2026. Yes. Yes. Does anybody have

any comments or changes to make to those minutes? No, Mr. Chair. [22:56.87] Okay, neither do I, I will then move that the minutes of meeting number 20 dash 2026 be approved as submitted a 2nd. All

those in favor. Hi. Hi. Hi. The minutes of that meeting are approved. [23:20.03] Do we have any other business this evening? But if I knew [attorney] was leaving, I would have brought a cake jam. I

know you're not feeling well. So I'm not going to ask you to do this this evening and I'm not going to be here on the October 21st meeting. [23:39.90] But I would like to set up at some point, whether

we have a variance pending or not a short course on the changes to the zoning ordinance that was recently passed by the mayor. [23:57.60] Yes, we would, we are planning on doing that for you since the

code is now in effect as of August 1st since your last meeting. So we'd be happy to provide that at a date that everyone can attend. Thank you. [24:12.91] Jim, is there any brief guide to the new code

that we can read before that meeting? Or we have to read there is a lot of information online. I can send the board the link to the engage rockville page. [24:26.14] There's kind of a summary of all

of the changes to the code that you might be interested in, but there are any and everything that had to do with the new code is posted there. [24:37.74] So I'll send that out to you, that'd be

helpful. Thank you. Look at it. Thanks, Jim. [24:41.53] Since they're doing, we don't have to worry about this anymore. Anyway, there'd be no further business before the board of appeals this evening,

the chair would entertain the chair would entertain a motion to adjourn. [24:57.94] I'll make a motion to adjourn. Second. All those in favor. Aye. Aye. The appeals is adjourned until its next

scheduled meeting, which is October 21st, 2026. Thank you all for being here this evening.