|
APPELLANT’S SUBMISSION:
Mr. Zia Mawji, on behalf of the
property owner, submitted an application to allow for the interior and
exterior alterations and enclosure of a carport into a garage for an existing
single family dwelling at 3760 Norfolk Street.
Mr. Mawji appeared before members of
the Board of Variance.
BURNABY
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT COMMENTS:
The subject site, zoned
R5 Residential District, is located in the Cascades-Schou area, in a mixed-use
commercial/multi-family residential neighbourhood in which the age and
conditions of the buildings vary. The majority of buildings in the
neighbourhood are multi-family dwellings.
The subject lot measures
approximately 33.00 feet (10.06 meters) in width and 100.00 feet (30.48
meters) in depth. The vehicular access is from the front property line on
Norfolk Street to the north. The site is bordered by an empty lot (3754
Norfolk Street) owned by the City on the west. Farther to the west, there is
a decommissioned portion of Esmond Avenue and another City owned lot at 3748
Norfolk Street.
There is a current
rezoning application (REZ16-17) for a multi-family development which would
encompass the unused portion of Esmond Avenue between Norfolk Street and
Canada Way and the two lots to the west of Norfolk Street, 3748 Norfolk
Street and 3737 Canada Way. There are two single family dwellings to the
east, a 3 storey multi-family strata building across Norfolk Street to the
north and commercial lots to the south. The site observes a gentle downward
slope of approximately 3.00 feet (0.91 meters) in a south-north direction.
The existing building
was originally built in 1971, but the lot was established before the 1965
Zoning Bylaw, and therefore the lot is legally nonconforming with regards to
the R5 required lot size, and width.
The subject property is
improved with a two storey single family residential dwelling, including an
attached garage, which was previously an attached carport. The garage is
already constructed without the benefit of a building permit. This
unauthorized garage construction is the subject of the three appeals.
The first appeal a) is
to vary Section 6.12(3)(a) – “Exceptions to Side Yard Requirements” of the
Zoning Bylaw for the minimum side yard width from 3.30 feet (1.01 meters) to
3.13 feet (0.95 meters) where 3.30 feet (1.01 meters) is 10% of the 33.00
foot (10.05 meters) lot.
The intent of the Bylaw
is to mitigate the impact of building massing on neighbouring properties. In
this case, the garage follows the outline of existing carport to the east and
is aligned with a 2.92 foot (0.89 meters) second floor overhang to the east.
The garage wall is facing a ground floor wall of the neighbouring property to
the east; therefore the proposed encroachment of approximately 2 inches (0.05
meters) has a negligible impact on the neighbouring property.
The second appeal b) is
to vary Section 105.8(1) – “Depth of Principal Building” of the Zoning Bylaw
requirement for the maximum building depth from 50.00 feet (15.24 meters) to
56.66 feet (185.89 meters).
The intent of
the principal building depth requirement of the Zoning Bylaw is to prevent
construction of dwellings that present long imposing walls, where the massing
of the building impacts the neighbouring properties.
In this case,
the depth of the building includes a 3.87 foot (1.18 meters) portion of the
enclosed carport under second floor balcony to the north, plus the body of
main building and the second floor terrace to the south. The terrace’s 3.94
feet (1.20 meters) permitted projection has been deducted from total depth of
the building.
It is worth
noting that perception of the overall depth of the building will be
substantially reduced by the proposed demolition of the office structure,
which was built without a permit over the southern deck. The removal of the
second floor office will also improve the evening light conditions in the
back yard of the property to the east.
The third appeal c) is
to vary Section 105.9 – “Front Yard” of the Zoning Bylaw requirement for the
minimum front yard depth from 19.70 feet (6.00 meters) to 15.65 feet (4.77
meters).
The intent of
the front yard requirements of the Zoning Bylaw is to mitigate the massing
impacts of the buildings and structures on the neighbouring properties and to
create a cohesive streetscape.
This appeal
proposes to legitimize the carport enclosure, a portion of which is located
under northern deck, and to expand the garage into the required front yard by
4.05 feet (1.23 meters). The two storey massing of the existing dwelling will
not be affected by this variance, as the subject variance is only requested
for the garage expansion at the lower level. The remainder of the existing
dwelling is set back by approximately 19.52 feet (5.95 meters) from the front
property line, almost exactly at the 19.70 foot (6.00 meters) line of
required front yard setback. The total 22.54 feet (6.87 meters) length of the
garage consists of an 18.64 feet (5.68 meters) long interior vehicle space
and a 2.90 feet (0.88 meters) deep laundry closet/ mechanical heating
equipment space in the back of the garage. The garage is approximately 4.00
feet (1.20 meters) in front of neighbouring building to the east, which is
positioned 20.00 feet (6.09 meters) from the front property line. The impact
on the neighbouring property is reduced due to the lack of windows in the
portion of the garage encroaching required front yard, so there is no
overlook onto the neighbouring property.
All three appeals are
related to the location of the garage and partially to the restrictions caused
by the legal non-conforming small lot size area and lot width. However,
enclosing the carport is a design decision.
ADJACENT OWNER’S COMMENTS:
No correspondence was received
regarding this appeal.
|