City of Winchester:
“The owner of a proposed apartment complex was granted a
waiver Wednesday to construct one building a bit taller than allowed in part
because the structure is being built into the side of a hill. The Winchester
Board of Zoning Appeals voted 5-0 to grant the variance request for Cedar Creek
Place LLC. In December, City Council rezoned the property so the company,
headed by Scott Rosenfeld, could build 132 apartments and about 10,000 square
feet of commercial space at 940 Cedar Creek Grade.
But the topography of the lot — it sloped 31 feet from back
to front — created an issue for the developer. One of two four-story buildings
planned on the site would measure 59 feet, 6 inches on the elevation facing
Cedar Creek Grade. City regulations stipulate that the street-facing elevation
is the one used, and the maximum height allowed is 55 feet.
Don Crigler, of city-based DFC Architects, told board
members that many area jurisdictions use average elevations to determine the
building height, and the average for the unit in question was below the maximum
(less than 54 feet). He also said the other four-story building on the site has
the same configuration, but it is perpendicular to Cedar Creek Grade and its
side elevation is less than 55 feet. The design calls for garages to be on the
ground level of the building with four residential floors above it. However,
Crigler said the garages only make use of the slope into which the structure is
built and do not add to the height.”
~ Writes Vic Bradshaw of The
Winchester Star
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