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November 9, 2020 <br />Page 4 <br />3.Criteria for and Consistency with Criteria for Variance Approval. Title XV Land Usage, <br />Chapter 152 Zoning Code, Section §152.245, (C) Evidence, lists the criteria the City Council <br />must consider in determining whether to grant or deny a variance. <br />Request: Request for an 8-foot variance from the required side yard setback. The applicable <br />criteria include: <br />1.The subject matter of the application is within the scope of this section. <br />2.Strict enforcement would cause practical difficulties because: <br />a.The property owner proposes to use the property in a reasonable manner not <br />permitted by the zoning code; <br />b.The plight of the property owner is due to circumstances unique to the property <br />not created by the property owner; <br />c.The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality; and <br />d.Economic considerations alone are not the basis of the practical difficulties. <br />3.The variance, if granted, would be consistent with the City’s comprehensive land use <br />plan. <br />4.The granting of the variance is in harmony with the general purposes and intent of the <br />zoning code. <br />SUMMARY AND STAFF/PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION <br />Side Yard Setback Variance. Staff and Planning Commission recommend approval of the <br />requested front yard fence height encroachment variance at 3501 Maplewood Drive based on <br />the following findings: <br />A.The applicant is able to construct a swimming pool, pool deck, and privacy fencing <br />within the proposed 8 foot setback encroachment. <br />B.A pool of the size, along with any associated construction such as a pool deck, that <br />would encroach into the front yard will require additional verification of compliance <br />with the terms of the City’s impervious surface maximum for residential lots of this <br />size. <br />C.The applicant has shown unique conditions on the property that interfere with putting <br />the property to a reasonable residential use, with reasonable use being defined in this <br />case as the significant encroachments toward Maplewood Drive that exist on most of <br />the surrounding properties to the east and west. <br />D.Circumstances that would lead to variance approval are the result of the actions of <br />prior owners, and those owners in the neighborhood, and not the actions of the <br />applicant.