Brian Biglin, the applicant and owner of 417 Forest Street, asked the Franklin Board of Zoning Appeals on Oct. 2 to allow a 2 foot 6 inch encroachment into the required 7-foot side-yard setback for an existing principal building. The board denied the request in a 4-0 vote.

Staff told the board the 0.22-acre lot is zoned R-4 and that although the applicant has remedied two earlier violations (removing impervious pavement and meeting the minimum landscape surface area), the remaining encroachment did not meet the first two statutory criteria for a variance under the Franklin zoning ordinance and state law. Staff said the lot could accommodate a single-family home that meets the 7-foot setback and described the hardship as self-imposed because the house was not built according to approved plans.

"I bought the lots to the left and right and both of those homes have been demolished," Brian Biglin said, describing steps he has taken since July. "I've solved 2 of the variances that I had requested before ... Now with that house being gone, I'll have the full 7 feet on the left and the 4 and a half feet on the right, so we'll have better spacing in between." He also said an expert advised the existing slab-on-grade house likely cannot be moved.

Staff noted fire-safety rules require buildings less than 5 feet from a property line to be fire-rated or sprinklered; the applicant has submitted a permit application for a sprinkler system. Staff recommended denial because the applicant did not show extraordinary conditions preventing development within the setback and the hardship appeared self-imposed.

Board member Smith moved to deny the variance request, and Board member Beams seconded. Board members Beams, Scales, Langley and Smith voted to deny the variance.

The record shows the adjacent lot at 415 Forest Street was recently demolished; staff said a new house there would need to meet the 7-foot setback. The board and staff discussed alternatives raised during the hearing, including combining lots or redesigning the house; staff advised that shrinking or relocating 415 to give land to 417 could make 415 more nonconforming and would not be allowed under the zoning ordinance. The applicant acknowledged combining the lots as a last resort because it would eliminate the ability to build separately on 415.

The variance request was denied. The applicant may modify plans and return to the board with a different application.