By Clarence Cromwell
'When is a garage not a garage?" Monte Sereno building officials pondered last week.
Dennis Varni, a Monte Sereno resident and part owner of Green Valley Disposal Co., had an answer for them in the "portable building" he put up on his Los Gatos-Saratoga Road estate.
Varni had the 11-foot-by-30-foot building with redwood shingles hammered together without a city building permit, and the city might not be able to ask for one.
The structure, used for storage of a rare antique camper-trailer, is mounted on seven pairs of 1.5-inch diameter rollers that Varni obtained from a house mover. According to Varni, the rollers mean that the garage isn't a permanent structure.
Departing City Manager Carolyn Lehr and Planner Brian Loventhal believe Varni put the building on skates in a deliberate attempt to outfox the city, they said.
The last time Varni built a garage, it came with a permit, but no wheels. In April 1985, Varni obtained a building permit to construct the 4,000-square-foot garage and storage building that now holds his collection of antique cars.
Following early conversations with Varni, Lehr said, the city concluded it couldn't force him to apply for a permit because of a loophole in the city code.
Loventhal determined that rollers mightmake the building a trailer--something the city can't dispute, because there's no definition of "trailer" in the city code, although it grants residents the right to store a "trailer coach."
The building was attached to a concrete foundation until Monte Sereno issued a June 12 order for Varni to cease construction and apply for a permit, Loventhal said. A permit is needed for permanent structures in Monte Sereno--anything taller than three feet and attached to the ground.
"I don't think he had a plan to make it portable from the start. It was kind of, 'If I can't do this, then I will do this,' " Loventhal said.
Varni said he intended all along to make the building portable.
"Because we're going to move it around different places," Varni said. "You hook up a trailer hitch and pull it by hand. I can move the whole building with one hand."
Varni said that he checked out Monte Sereno's regulations on portable buildings two years ago in preparation for moving the building. "What's the big deal? If it moves, it passes the regulation. That's it," Varni said.
Varni said he also plans to tow the building to other properties, by attaching a trailer hitch to it. But for now it will be bolted to its concrete foundation, a measure taken for earthquake safety.
Carolyn Lehr, whose last day as city manager was Aug. 5, said she's unaware of any provision for portable buildings in the code.
The new city manager, Gay Strand, said Loventhal will inspect Varni's structure when it's finished to make sure it meets town codes, whether trailer, portable structure or building.
Although the situation is unusual, Lehr said, it's important for the city to sew up any loophole in the city code, if it actually does allow for garages with wheels to go up without permits.
"Perhaps someone else may attempt to do the very same thing," Lehr said.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, August 14, 1996.
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