WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Waukesha City Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday denied an appeal seeking a dimensional variance that would have allowed a concrete parking pad at 1108 Lynn Drive to come to the eastern lot line with no five-foot side-yard setback.

City planner Jonathan (last name not provided) told the board the house at 1108 Lynn Drive is in an RS-3 single-family district and that the concrete addition in question was installed in April 2022. He reported measurements submitted by the property owner showing the concrete-to-property-line distances were about 2 feet 7 inches on the north end and 9 inches on the south end, while the municipal code requires a 5-foot setback.

The property owner, Jeff Lawson, said he hired the contractor, relied on that contractor to ensure compliance and used the side pad to park a boat because the driveway slope makes parking there difficult. “I relied on him to do that,” Lawson said of the contractor, and he told the board the concrete had been in place for three years with no prior complaints until a canopy temporarily placed over the boat drew attention in 2024.

Board members noted nearby examples of driveways and paved pads that do not meet the current five-foot setback and heard from city staff that the ordinance requiring the setback passed in 2016; work installed before 2016 may be legal nonconforming, but additions after December 2016 must comply. Staff said there is no routine permit process for flatwork such as driveways; permit review is triggered when a complaint or code-enforcement case occurs.

During deliberations board members split over whether a contractor’s failure to check code amounted to an extraordinary circumstance justifying a variance. Some members described the contractor’s error as a hardship for the homeowners and noted similar nonconforming pads nearby. Others warned approving the variance could set a precedent that would undermine the zoning code’s setback requirement.

Kevin Reilly moved to deny the appeal; Ed Raeser seconded. The motion to deny carried 3–2. The board’s action leaves the concrete pad noncompliant with the five-foot side-yard setback; the appeal was not approved and the variance was not granted.

No further action on this item was recorded at the meeting; the city’s code-enforcement process and any required corrective steps were not specified during the hearing.