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Home My WebLink About10-16 CommentsDave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road i Stephens City,Va.22655 June 2016 Request for Zoning Variance.0 Detailed What do we want to do? We would like to provide more living space, better heating and a first -floor bathroom for Kate's elderly parents, who are on a fixed income and need more than their present 260 square feet plus an upstairs bed- room to live in. Why is this necessary? We currently have only 1,732 square feet and one - and -a -half baths in our house. The full bath has an acrylic clawfoot tub that is difficult for Kate's 80 -year- old mother to climb into. Going upstairs is hard on her knees, and Kate's father has to take the stairs slowly due to his atrial fibrillation. (And two toilets for four adults just isn't working very well.) The living room ceiling is vaulted, and consequently it is impossible to get it warm enough for Kate's parents in the winter (they use space heaters in their rooms to augment the HVAC heat); and the remaining first -floor space is open on three sides. Can't you alter the fioorplan to accommodate another hath? The half -bath is situated in a hallway and could be made into an awkward, walk-through bathroom that would diminish the value of our home, but a) It would not solve the need for more toilets; b) It would require us to get rid of our present washer and dryer to purchase a stackable unit; c) It would require the floor space of the pantry, taking away much-needed storage space and litterbox con- tainment; d) It would not add any much-needed square footage; e) It would require extensive re -working of the bath- room area, leaving four adults the use of one toilet until the work was done; f) It would require opening up a load-bearing wall; g) Two plumbers have looked at it and said that there is not enough depth io create a shower to code. Can't you just move into a bigger house? There are several constraints in this area, being: a) We can't afford a home of the needed square footage at present prices in the Stephens City area; we would have to relocate to West Virginia to find an affordable alternative; b) Most available homes have just a half -bath on the first floor, and bedrooms upstairs, which is not as con- venient as what we have now; c) We are already in the middle of a refinance, not making it financially feasible to turn around the sell the house, losing over $7,000 in closing fees; and d) We love our neighbors and want to keep them, and not have the two-way crapshoot of our possibly getting bad neighbors as well as their getting bad neighbors. e) We have several feral cats on the property that were born under our shed. We have had them vetted, vacci- nated and fixed and they live on our property, and we provide food and shelter for them. Relocating them would be extremely -difficult, if not impossible Would it be good for the neighborhood? The subdivision of Greenbrier Village is a mixture of different styles and sizes. Houses of less than 1,000 square feet coexist side-by-side with footprints of over 2,000 square feet; There are ranch -style homes, split -foyers, split-levels, colonials and contemporary Dave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road Stephens City,Va.22655 June 2016 Request for 'l-loning Vamtncec. (Cliaracter If grmitcd the opportunity to expand our home, we hope to build in such a way that preserves the character of our immediate neighborhood. Overall, our subdlvlsum, Greenbrier Village, lacks a home ownlcr's association, so individual properties vary cousiderablc nl coudltlou, upkeep and appear ince. Our immediate neighborhood at Ravcu Road and Nigh6ugalc Avenue, however, is very well-maintained. And we feel xvc have good relationships with our neighbors — which is one reason tive decided to rerllain ilu our present home mid try to improve our property rather thau move. Colrscqueutly,eve are t.lkirlg gre:ri care that our design ideas present a pleasant. aesthetic that will enhance the inimediate neighborhood :u►d perhaps even add value. We arc including dcsignr idea samples for our proposed addition below. Above: For the addition we envi- sion a flat roof with a decorative railing. • Above, right: The addition design would feature several tall windows and kneeboard siding. Dave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road Stephens City,Va. 22655 June 2016 Request foning ar iance.- -Oluebird Different lot, same design, different results: In the same development, owners of a home nearly identical to the Dentel property were able to build a substantial addition.This home at 229 Bluebird presumably was approved for an expansion project because it was built to the side, where setbacks are minimal. Unfortunately for the Dentel property on Raven Road, what would be considered the "side" is labled a second "front" (not pictured here). Dave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road �P Stephens City,Va.22655 June 20 ( 6 Request for.Z�0,111ng Variance: Neighbornig Lots I To the West: 119 Nightingale could build an ample addition w toward the rear. w Despite dual "fronts," 101 Raven Road has ample room to build. to the East Despite being on a nar- row lot, 113 Nightingale features an addition -like projection toward the rear. Ta the South: As a double lot, 100 Raven Road also has ample potential for building expansion, despite being bound by two "fronts" • IA Dave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road Stephens City Va. 22655 ;11:0 - July 20 16 equest for Zoning; Variance: Aclditionaj Documentat0fl, We wisli to thunk Frederick County staff for their assistance. wid members of the board of 7,oning Appeals for considering our case. Dual Hardship Wee arc requesting a zoning x ariance for our properly at 102 Raven Road. We feel Svc have a strong case for claiming a hardship based on the fact that, since ours is a corner lot, Fve lace setback restrictions we otherwise would not have encountered. And though we realize drat technically it is not a consideration for the board, we would like to mention our reason Ibr mmitiig to build an addition: We wish to accommodate Rate's elderly parents. Specifically, we would like to add a ground floor suite of rooms drat includes a full badr. Currently our only Full batlr is on the second floor. t Tnfortunately, climbing the stays is becoming increasingly diflicult for Mr. and Mrs Wright-. And, with our home's present conligurUion, there is no space to add air additional bath on either floor. Building toward the roast: The Dentels would like to build a 20 -foot by 24 -foot addition on the north side of their home, toward Nightingale Avenue. This would make the present 35 -foot setback a 20 -foot setback. Dave and Kate Dentel 102 Raven Road Stephens City,Va. 22655 June 2016 Re�mest for Zoning Variance: salt -boxes, like ours. Some homes are well-maintained and renovated, while others are shrouded in weeds, have multiple vehicles up on blocks, missing shingles and broken blinds. There is no HOA. When we are gardening in our front yard, usually someone (sometimes several people) will stop and say, " I love what you've done to this place!" Our house was bank -owned and needed a couple of thousand dol- lars put into it before we could even get it appraised when we bought it in 2009. Our desire is to stay put and provide housing for Kate's parents where we are, improving the character of the house over the time we are here. A house of our exact style has been added to ex- tensively; however this lot has neighbors on three sides whereas our house is on a corner, providing two "fronts" from which to measure setbacks. We are confident that our addition would look appealing to our neighbors and passers-by. Too, being the second house on Raven Road coming from Aylor Road, it adds charm to the subdivision, and makes it seem more like a neighborhood. Above: The Dentel home as seen from Raven Road. Our cur- rent request is to build a 480 -square -foot addition just to the left (north). Left: The east side of the Dentel home. A request for a variance to build there, toward the neighboring property line, was with- drawn. 9! "V,kl il N14 - A k lie IWI