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CITY OF MUSKEGON
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
REGULAR MEETING
DATE OF MEETING: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
TIME OF MEETING: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE OF MEETING: City Hall Commission Chambers, First Floor, Muskegon City Hall
AGENDA
I. Roll Call
II. Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 8, 2023.
III. Public Hearings
A. Hearing; Case 2023-05: Request for a variance from Section 404 of the zoning ordinance
to allow a building addition with a reduced side yard (east side yard) setback of 5 feet at
2229 Surfwood Dr.
IV. New Business
V. Old Business
VI. Other
VII. Adjourn
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should contact the City of Muskegon by writing or by calling the following:
Ann Marie Meisch, MMC
City Clerk
933 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49440
231-724-6705
clerk@shorelinecity.com
CITY OF MUSKEGON
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
STAFF REPORT
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Hearing; Case 2023-05: Request for a variance from Section 404 of the zoning ordinance to
allow a building addition with a reduced side yard (east side yard) setback of 5 feet at 2229
Surfwood Dr.
SUMMARY
1. The property is zoned R-1, Low Density, Single Family Residential.
2. The parcel is a combination of lot 25 and lot 26 of the original plat. In total, it measures
6,881 sf (56’ x 124’). To be considered a buildable lot, a parcel in this district must have at
least 50 feet of road frontage and be at least 6,000 sf. This lot meets both of those
requirements.
3. The applicant is proposing a two-story addition to the east side of the house. The ordinance
requires that a two-story house in this district be setback at least eight feet from the side
property line. The proposed side setback on the east side of this property would be only
five feet.
4. It also appears that the west side property line is not currently being met, making this
structure legally non-conforming. However, this addition would not increase that non-
conformity because the addition will be on the other side of the house.
5. All properties within 300 feet of the applicant were notified, at time of this writing staff had
not received any comments from the public.
Zoning Map
Aerial Map
Site Plan
REVIEW STANDARDS
Questions to consider when reviewing a variance request:
a. Are there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the
property in question or to the intended use of the property that do not apply generally to
other properties or class of uses in the same zoning district?
b. Is the dimensional variance necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a
substantial property right possessed by other properties in the same zoning district and in
the vicinity?
c. Will the authorizing of such dimensional variance be of substantial detriment to adjacent
properties?
d. Is the alleged difficulty caused by the ordinance and not by any person presently having
an interest in the property, or by any previous owner?
e. Is the alleged difficulty founded solely upon the opportunity to make the property more
profitable or to reduce expense to the owner?
f. Is the requested variance the minimum action required to eliminate the difficulty?
Answers provided to variance questionnaire
Letter from adjacent neighbors to the east
DETERMINATION:
The following motion is offered for consideration:
I move that the request for a variance from Section 404 of the zoning ordinance to allow a
building addition with a reduced east side yard setback of 5 feet at 2229 Surfwood Dr. be
(approved/denied) based on the review standards in Section 2502 of the Zoning Ordinance.
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