You're very welcome. Try to ask the details on why they voted down the two garages (if possible). Sometimes it's just aesthetics (exterior finishes) / failure to "blend in" with the neighborhood. Once we explained how we were matching roof pitch to the house, exterior finished/details to match house we had no issues. Also, depends on the number of variances needed. In our case, the square footage of the garage itself and the placement on the lot were fine. The variance itself was on total square footage - or in other words, to allow us to keep the existing attached garage.
In your case, with no existing garage and a (relatively) minor overage on square footage, it trim/finishes have it matching the house, I would think it would be relatively easy. As to the height, take a look at the ones being built on North Broadway - two story garages that match the houses....