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Carrie Chase Nuckolls hands out planning materials to the Zoning Board of Adjustments at Tuesday’s meeting. Staff photo by Taylor Nye -
An example of the home design that will be implemented near downtown by Carrie Nuckolls and Pat Chase. Courtesy/ Carrie Nuckolls and Pat Chase
Julian: Exception request didn’t pass muster
Sulphur Springs may soon be seeing a new subdivision downtown with six zero-lot line, Charleston-style townhouses, according to a decision from the Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA) Tuesday evening.
Located a stone’s throw from city hall, the development proposed before the ZBA would be situated between Connally, Easy and Atkins streets and executed by father-and-daughter team Pat Chase and Carrie Chase Nuckolls.
According to Chase and Nuckolls, they designed these single-family, two-story homes in a traditional southern style with some stonework, a lower-level covered porch and a detached garage with a finished upper area that the owner can turn into an office, “man-cave” or rent out as an efficiency apartment. Nuckolls said the homes will be at least 1,700 square feet and be priced at $275,000 and higher, depending upon interior finishes.
“We believe that the most likely purchaser is an empty-nester or retiree out of the metroplex or California,” Nuckolls told the board.
Monday evening, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) unanimously recommended the approval of the development; however, the final approval of the plan rested in the hands of ZBA. (See the Saturday, March 21 edition of the News-Telegram for the full story.)
The reason Chase and Nuckolls appeared before ZBA was that their proposal contained two variances, according to city staff. The zero-lot line design of the plan would encroach on what city code calls a setback—that is, when a building is closer to a street than the city allows, according to Community Development Director Tory Niewiadomski. The plans to have a livable spaces above the garages also count as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which the city currently prohibits, Niewiadomski stated. Although the P&Z and Niewiadomski have recently been discussing crafting an ordinance to present to city council regarding allowing ADUs in some scope, such an ordinance would not be ready for several months, Niewiadomski stated.
Board member James Litzler asked Niewiadomski if he was concerned in this case about emergency medical personnel being able to reach the homes if they were built closer to the street than city code currently allows. Niewiadomski said he was not, as the city had reviewed the building plan with Chase and Nuckolls and found that, although the plan provided for a narrow-than-normal 15-foot alley through the property, the city would still retain a 5-foot easement, making it similar to city code, which requires 20-foot-wide alleyways.
Board member Jay Julian stated his concern about tenancy requirements should owner/ occupants of the main structure decide to rent out the ADU space above their garages.
“When I was on Woodbridge [homeowners association], we had a situation where someone would buy up several properties, and then come in there with five votes and control the whole thing,” Julian stated.
Nuckolls stated that the construction of the homes would be focused more on deed restrictions than homeowners associations and, in that way, limit the power of any one person to change the appearance or enforcement of the homes.
According to Nuckolls, this has been a passion project of Chase for the past seven years, which came together with downtown revitalization urban planner Ian Lockwood designing the development.
“This is the spirit of... walk-ability, a high-end product, that vision, the downtown, and we want to be a part of it,” Nuckolls said.
Despite the fact that he felt positively in a personal sense towards downtown walk-ability, Julian said, he was not sure it was within the purview of the ZBA to approve the variance.
“The variance must not create an advantage of the property not available to other, similar properties,” Julian said. “It doesn’t feel like this [request] fits this criteria. It feels like the setbacks could be redesigned. It could be done in a way where we wouldn’t be here tonight.”
Chase said he disagreed. According to Chase, the pair had worked together with the city to design their concepts in such a way that it was as close to city code as it could be.
“Our heart is to produce high-end and high-density and have it fit the city’s goal and vision,” Nuckolls said.
And, said Nuckolls, if Julian was worried the variance would confer an advantage other properties would not have, he need not worry.
“There are no other properties like this in the city,” she said.
“I understand both ways,” board member Kevin Mohl said. “The city is being nudged into a mode of looking at downtown in a way that is more urban in nature. We’re being into this ‘walk to downtown’ intensity type of thing.”
Having no further questions, the board voted 4-1 to approve the request, with Julian voting against.