Renovations are underway on the home at 2932 Wroxton after months of back and forth with the city over plans for the project.
Renovations are underway on the home at 2932 Wroxton after months of back and forth with the city over plans for the project.
Vernon and Lynn Tyger purchased their 1930s style home last October after being vacant for several years. The couple has restored four old homes in West U and is fixing up the home to live in it.
Work on the house and garage started last week and hopefully will be done by the end of next month, Vernon Tyger told InstantNewsWestU.
The house is in the process of getting a new roof and concrete work is being done on the garage.
The renovations came after a lengthy approval process with the city because the garage apartment on their property was in violation of the city’s code because it was considered a principal dwelling. City code only allows for one principal dwelling in a single family 3 zoning district.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment considered an appeal from the Tygers regarding the city’s definition of a dwelling in May and decided that the couple would need to remove the plumbing from the kitchen in their garage apartment in order to bring the building into compliance with the city code.
The Tygers hoped “to remove either the plumbing (gas line outlet) and electrical facilities (220 volt power outlet), which could serve cooking equipment (oven or stove) or the plumbing that serves the kitchen sink by removing at its source, the hot and cold water lines running to the sink,” according to the appeal.
Following the decision by the ZBA, Vernon Tyger told the news organization that he wasn’t sure if they were going to continue with the project.
The ZBA denied a portion of a variance in April that the Tygers requested from the city to leave the garage the way it is.
The ZBA needed to grant a variance that would allow for the garage to be an “accessory quarters,” allow the dwelling to continue to exist above the garage and not be located within the principal building and allow the dwelling to exceed 600 square feet.
The ZBA only approved to allow the dwelling to exceed 600 square feet. The garage apartment is 649 square feet.
One of the ways the garage could be brought into compliance with the city’s code is if it was connected to the house.
Vernon Tyger said he couldn’t build a tunnel connecting the house and garage because “it would look crazy.”
The Tygers put the house up for sale the next day. They said they wanted the option to sell it if things didn’t work out with the city.
Once the city approved the Tygers plans, they took the house off the market.
The house is 1,700 square feet and is big enough for the two of them, but the Tygers said they wanted a place for their kids to stay when they came to visit.
