J. Edwards Insurance Agency, located at 800 W. Third St., will be expanding its parking lot after receiving an area variance approval from the Jamestown Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

The Jamestown Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a parking lot extension for a Third Street business.

On Wednesday, the board approved the area variance to expand the existing parking lot at J. Edwards Insurance Agency, located at 800 W. Third St.

The petition for the area variance was filed by Jeffrey Ireland, but Greg Edwards, Ireland’s brother-in-law, spoke to the board about the proposed change.

The proposal is to extend the parking lot 6 feet to the west to be 4 feet from the property line. According to the city zoning law, in an R-1 (single-family residential) District the required setback for parking area is 10 feet.

Edwards said the business was located in the Third Street Plaza, but moved across the street to its new location. Since the move, he said the business owners have invested in improving the aesthetics of the property. He added that the neighbor to the west doesn’t have a problem with the parking lot extension.

The board approved an area variances for a 1 foot setback for a shed and parking space for Robert and Nekisha McAdoo, who live at 1209 Newland Ave.

The petition originally included a variance for allowing the parking space to be in the front yard, which is not permitted in an R-1 District. After discussion, the McAdoos agreed to move the shed from its current location to their back yard so the parking space can be extended further back so it’s no longer considered a front yard driveway.

During the public speaking portion, neighbor Lester Howard said when the parking space was installed his flower garden was destroyed.

Howard said he has been told by authorities that he needs to file a civil suit and there is nothing law enforcement can do about the alleged damage.

The board approved an area variance to install a 9-foot wood fence for Kristofer and Simone Sellstrom, who live at 67 Chestnut St. John Sellstrom, Kristofer Sellstrom’s brother, spoke to the board about the area variance request.

A six-foot fence is the maximum allowed in an R-1 District.

John Sellstrom said the property owners want to install the fence because their neighbor recently cut down trees that had shielded the property and provided privacy to their back porch. He said the whole fence wouldn’t be nine-foot tall, but in the area of the backyard where the trees were located a lattice extension would be installed. He added that the 9-foot tall section of the fence cannot be seen from the street.

A neighbor spoke against the variance request stating that she hopes nine-foot fences don’t become a precedent in the city.

The board approved an area variance for Keith and Nicole Vanstrom, who live at 120 Park Street.

The Vanstroms want to install an 18-foot above ground swimming pool, which will have a 3-foot setback from the south property line. The required setback in an R-1 District for a swimming pool is 8 feet.

The board approved an area variance for Randal and Giulia Sowrey, who live at 182 West Virginia Blvd., to install a 20-foot by 32-foot deck seven feet from the west property line. The zoning law setback requirement in an R-1 District for a front yard is 25 feet or the average depth of properties within 150 feet, which would be approximately 15 feet. One person spoke and four letters were given to the zoning board from neighbors approving of the deck.