Narrow Garage, Easements & Variance

[Tejas TJ]

Those with working smaller garages on this forum have inspired me to consider building a detached garage of my own.

The problem for me, is I have 2 easements (neighbor water/sewer 15' each) that leave me with only 17' of width to work with. My idea is to ask for a variance from the city for the extra 3' of the 5' setback off the rear lot line. I'm assuming they will grant me the variance due to this being an actual hardship and not due to funds. The city I live in is a rural city but is growing, so they are beginning to enforce more building ordinances. I've also considered asking the neighbor for my own easement for the garage. This would leave me with only a 20' x 32' garage. My projects are full-size trucks and jeeps which make the small building even more tight. An attached garage is not an option due to larger setbacks and this is the only location for a detached garage. The proposed garage would be the penciled in area in the corner of the attached survey copy.

So, with that in mind what do you guys think I should do? If anyone has a 20' wide working garage please post up and let me know what you think.

 

[DC73]

Long and skinny can work. When I started down this road, between septic tank and drain field, setback lines, and deed restrictions I had to get creative. It turned out that the best thing I could do was build a narrow but long building so I settled on two garage bays end to end instead of side by side.

I decided to keep the wood framing on 4' increments and made it 16' x 48' which after bricking it (deed restriction) put the overall dimensions in the 17' x 49' range. I realized I had a bit of room to widen the building after getting it past the end of the house so I ended up creating an "L" shaped building by tacking an extra 12' x 16' extension on the side of the building at the far end for a storage room, bathroom and entry way for the walk-in door. This extension also made the bay at the far end a little wider which gives me more room for work benches along one side.

I'm roughing in the electrical now so haven't been able to use the building yet but I think it's going to work well. As long as I don't clutter it up too much, I'll be able to walk completely around two vehicles, each with their doors fully open.

DC

 

[volleyball]

While the easement allows their lines to run under your ground, it doesn't stop you from building on top. You might end up with them digging a hole some time in the future, maybe worth the risk.

 

[sublimate]

Have you looked into changing the easements?

First off, it says "Approximate Location". The true easement may be centered on the actual location of the pipe, so you'll need to locate the pipe to know where it really is.

You may be in luck and the pipe is farther away from where shown. On the other hand it may be in the wrong direction.

Either way, they don't need that much room. Once you locate the pipe you can ask them to change the easement to something easier to live with, like 3' on the critical side and 10' on the other.

 

[Tejas TJ]

Have you looked into changing the easements?

First off, it says "Approximate Location". The true easement may be centered on the actual location of the pipe, so you'll need to locate the pipe to know where it really is.

You may be in luck and the pipe is farther away from where shown. On the other hand it may be in the wrong direction.

Either way, they don't need that much room. Once you locate the pipe you can ask them to change the easement to something easier to live with, like 3' on the critical side and 10' on the other.

This is actually what I did yesterday by using my 240' fish tape, running it down the neighbors clean out and using a tracer on it. The measurement I wrote on the survey are what I came up with.

Now after talking with the guy today, he said he doesn't care as long as I don't build right on top of it. That would leave me about 2-3 feet away from his line if I followed the 5' setback off the rear lot line.

What should I do to make this legal, or should I just get a building permit and deal with it when/if it becomes an issue. I've spoken to him a couple times before and he always seems like a good dude.

 

[bazzateer]

At the very least you need something legal and in writing.

 

[DC73]

Get copies of the original easement documents. The language might give you some options. They might even have expired. Easements can be modified but I would make sure to do it legally and file them appropriately.

Another option would be to move the neighbor's water and sewer lines and to consolidate them into one smaller easement. If you can dig the ditches yourself, it's not that costly for materials.

That much easement room is way too large for these two lines. A standard 20' alley contains much larger water and sewer lines and can also contain gas lines, phone lines, electric lines, etc. I'd think a 5' easement containing both lines would work just fine.

DC

 

[Gcrop]

I am dealing with something very similar, however my issue is the side lot line. 5' easement is code in my county and my neighbor and I had always assumed the fence was on the property line or very close. Well it is actually 5 or so feet INTO his lot. So he technically owns 5 feet wide/300+ feet deep of land on my side of the fence. My neighbor is cool with whatever I need to do though and is willing to sign off on whatever I need.

If I pushed my garage into my backyard more (left to right), then I would be getting behind my house and close to the pool.

Long story short, I filled out an application and paid my $50 to go in front of the variance board to see if they will allow me to building within 1' of the actual property line (which the building would then be 6'+ from the shared fence). Downside is that the builder has already graded and did a lot of dirt work and set the form boards for the slab. So now I have a mud pit and missing my fence on that side of the yard so I can't let the dogs in the backyard. Variance board meeting is only once a month and usually on the 10th of each month so I barely missed this month's. Now I have to wait until May 11th to see if I can proceed with the build or rethink the size and design of the garage.

 

[ozyborn]

My moms neighbor tried saying their was an easement on her property so they could reach their backyard. This is after they landscaped. Sorry. No easement in the deed therefore no easement. Do it right, get the permit and know exactly where everything is.

 

[HoosierMark]

Gcrop, I would not say anything at your hearing that you have already started the work. Curious, you do not mention if you have a building permit already. Here in my area you would have had to provide a diagram showing the location of the proposed building in relation to all the lot lines. Did you do this? You may already be able to claim the 5 foot on your side of the fence thru adverse possession if you have been openly mowing it and taking care of it. Talk to a lawyer and see what your options area. Some states allow you to do this, probably some do not. The location of the fence is really irrelevant, the property line is the key. Everyone assumes fence lines are on the property line but often at least in the country they followed a path of least resistance especially on wooded areas. Perhaps your neighbor could grant you a quit claim deed to the area and then when the dust settles in a year,you quit claim it back to him after the building has been built and the issue has sorta disappeared.

 

[volleyball]

Fences are usually set back so assuming it was the property line is his fault. Trying to "steal" the neighbors property is just wrong and can cause lots of problems. Offering to buy some space is the only fair thing to do.