06-11-09 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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• In many instances, individuals will be walking south on Centerville Road, will see her child playing basketball, and attempt to engage him in conversation. They eventually move away and keep walking when an adult steps outside. • Their garbage cans, which are placed close to the home, have been stolen two times. The additional height of the fence is needed to prevent offenders from simply scaling the fence by foot. They have an internal security system and had been told that the number of false alarms indicated when they were not home was almost exceeding the allowable amount. The addition of a motion sensor has decreased the number of incidents on the property. When trees still existed on the property line, they placed an additional motion detection security system outside for an immediate indicator of activity on their property. However, the devices have to be at five feet or higher to properly sweep the radius for activity, and so a four-foot fence would not allow the device to scan property. • They feel they are entitled to a certain level of security, and this fence would provide the family the privacy and protection they feel they deserve. Variance Evaluation Criteria. According to Section 922.010.C2, a variance from the terms of the Ordinance shall not be granted unless it can be demonstrated that: a. Special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land, structure, or building involved. (1) Special conditions may include exceptional topographic or water conditions or, in the case of an existing lot or parcel of record, narrowness, insufficient area or shape of the property. (2) Special conditions and circumstances may not be primarily economic in nature. b. Literal interpretation of the provisions of this ordinance would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this ordinance. c. The special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. d. Granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by the ordinance to other lands, structures or buildings in the same district. e. A genuine hardship exists in complying with the literal terms of the ordinance. When considering a variance, the City must find that there is a condition of the property which creates a hardship in putting the property to a reasonable use under the standard regulations. In this case, the applicant's argument is that a four fence is not adequate to provide the necessary security due to their proximity to (and experiences with) neighboring apartment residents. The additional fence height is necessary to permit the motion detector to sweep the front area of the property and to discourage pedestrians from encroaching into the front yard areas. 3