Week 2 Construction Update

The construction front was relatively quiet this week.  The footings were staked.  An engineer is coming early next week to test the soil below the concrete slab.  If all goes well, the footings should be able to be dug later in the week.

At the end of last week, I submitted my second request to the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals.  The final site plans called for extending the wall height of 6.5’ around part of the property’s Idlewood Avenue frontage and return to the house in order to provide for full security, privacy, and traffic noise abatement of the private yard area.  Two facts led me to this conclusion:

(1) The private yard space will not be sufficiently secured for pets and children or have privacy with only a 4’ high wall facing Idlewood Avenue, which is a through street with an average daily traffic volume of 1,800 vehicles per the most recent Virginia Department of Transportation estimate.

(2) Noise from the Downtown Expressway reverberates off of brick houses on the south side of Idlewood Avenue and will create loud conditions in the private yard space without a 6.5’ wall height.

The City’s Zoning Department felt that the minor wall change required a second variance.  So, I had to submit a narrative, pay another $175 fee, schedule time to speak at the Byrd Park Civic League meeting in early February, and then attend a BZA hearing in early March to present my case.