Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals

MINUTES ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS MEETING CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 447 N. Main St. Boerne, TX 78006 Wednesday, October 21, 2020– 5:30 p.m. Members Present: Scott Lowry-Chair, Jim Terrian Vice-Chair, Richard McCormick-Secretary, Tom Harris, Blaine Lewis, Jon Paul Bergman, and Steve Stewart Staff Present: Michael Mann, Laura Talley, Andrea Snouffer and Barrett Squires Visitors: Jacques Dubose and Courtney Ryan 1. CALL TO ORDER – 5:30 PM Meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. 2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION There were none. 3. DESIGNATE VOTING MEMBERS Chair Lowry designated all five regular members to vote. 4. APPROVE MINUTES OF JULY 15, 2020 Member Bergman moved to approve the minutes. All were in favor. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Receive comments on Variance No. 20-03, Lot 8, Block 4, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (137 Stablewood Ct.). City of Boerne Page 1 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals Chris Swank started by explaining that he understands the reason for the ten foot setback. He said there is buried telephone fiber cable and it is at the steepest slope of his yard and he put the shed there because it is otherwise unusable space. He also understands if the need ever arises for the fiber to be dug up, he will have to move the shed. He said there is only 36 square feet of the shed that is in this setback. He said the slope prevents family activities and he made the yard useful by placing the shed there and leaving the remainder of the backyard. Vice Chair Terrian asked if the shed is on blocks. Chris said yes, and it can be moved. Member Lewis asked if he knew about the setback requirements. Chris said it was his fault that he did not get a permit. He went on to explain that it's his fault and said he has no excuse. Member Bergman asked if it was professionally built. Chris said yes, and it was built onsite. Member Harris asked if he was aware of the setback requirements before building the shed. Chris said no he wasn't. He said he didn't know how to read his survey plat. Chair Lowry asked about the rear setback variance and if he had any other comments. Chris explained it is the same shed same setback except on the backside and less of his shed violated the rear setback. Secretary McCormick mentioned a solution of turning the shed and bringing it toward the front of the house. Chris explained again that he placed it in the corner so it would not take up more of his useful yard space. Laura Talley, Planning & Zoning Director, explained that she understands he wants to make the most use of his yard, but there are a number of setback issues here. She said it's an accessory structure and those setbacks are different It's a separate structure from the home. He has a 25' side setback for a corner lot and 5' in the rear. These are the requirements for a standard lot. She said somebody complained to City Staff and that is how we discovered it. There is also a 10' utility easement and we do not allow any structures in the easement at all. Vice Chair Terrian asked if the 25' setback is on Stablewood Ct. Laura said yes it is, but the other side would be 5'. He also asked if the 15' building setback is for the primary residence and the 25' setback is for the accessory structure. Laura said that is City of Boerne Page 2 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals correct. Vice Chair Terrian said a major shift would be needed to put this in compliance, but they will still need a variance on the 25'. Mike Mann explained the two setbacks and this Board can grant a variance to the setback, but does not have the authority to grant any encroachment into the utility easement. Receive comments on Variance No. 20-04, Lot 8, Block 4, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (137 Stablewood Ct.). Receive comments on Variance No. 20-05, Lot 10, Block 5, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (101 Tiltwood Ct.). Charles Edwards explained that you can't put anything in his backyard. He said has a total of 25' in the back from his patio to his fence. He said he also has a corner lot with a slope. He said he discovered a underground water reservoir that is two houses up from him. He also noticed flooding in the neighbor's yard behind him where the yard and flowers get flooded as well as the driveway. He wanted to have more in his back yard than just grass and wanted a patio for a table and chairs. He did not know he needed a permit for this patio. He said it is his fault and takes responsibility for that. While on vacation, he was contacted by his patio contractors that they could perform this work. He said he gave the permission to get started. Code Enforcement noticed the rebar work and explained a permit is needed. He decided to go ahead and pour the concrete anyway. His contractor asked if he wanted the patio connected to the existing foundation. He was told with the slope and the flow of water, that it is best to connect the patio to the foundation The patio is 6' away from neighbor's fence in the back. For the side, he constructed a sidewalk patio to the AC unit. He said he can't walk between his AC unit from the back to front of his house. Charles approached the board with pictures. He said he wanted to connect the patio to the AC unit, so he wouldn't have patches of grass to weed eat. He understands why the setbacks are there so that he cannot cover the patio because it is too close to his neighbors house He said it is a patio for table and chairs and maybe a small pergola and that is it. Vice Chair Terrian asked City of Boerne Page 3 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals about contractor and if he is licensed and has worked in the City. Charles said he has worked in the area for over 20 years. Vice Chair Terrian said he has probably pulled permits before. Secretary McCormick asked how tall the patio is. Chris said it is 6" off the back and comes to 4' with the slope. Member Bergmann asked if he had the home built. He said yes. Jacques Dubose, one of his neighbors said his patio looks nice and it gives them space for a barbecue pit and chairs. Chair Lowry announced that he needs a second variance for the side. Member Lewis asked if the AC pad was connected to the foundation. Charles said yes. Laura Talley said rear patios are allowed to encroach in the setback up to ten feet. He would need to lose 4' to comply. She referred to design section of the Zoning Ordinance. She said they want to prevent structures to be built on the slab. She said dowelling into the foundation is not an issue. Concrete can be connected, the roof cannot. Typically AC is looked at as equipment and is on a separate pad. It's 5' on that side and considered an encroachment. Secretary McCormick asked about the 10' allowance. Laura said it is a buffer from your neighbor. There is a 20' bldg setback, but the patio can encroach. Secretary McCormick asked if Code Enforcement looks at any erosion issues. Laura said she doesn't know. Laura mentioned that instead of pavement on the side they could have used stepping stones. Member Terrian asked about sheds and if they're allowed to be 5' from property lines. Laura said yes 5' in the rear and 25' on the side because it's a corner lot. Vice Chair Terrian said if he put a shed there it would be allowed to be 5' away, however a patio cannot. A patio needs to be 10' from the rear property line. Secretary McCormick asked about not getting through the side with the AC unit. Laura said she asked Code Enforcement about this and typically they are on a separate slab. Charles said the builder put it there and did not connect to the house and now its falling away from the house. He believes attaching it to the house foundation gives it more stability. Chris Swank approached again and said he didn't understand that there were two separate issues with the City and the electric City of Boerne Page 4 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals company. With the 25' setback, he said that Betty Kwasneski put it in the original letter to him, but that his survey plat said 10' and that's why he thought it was 10'. Courtney Ryan approached. He said he lives across the street and said he would like to see the shed stay where it is and doesn't want to see more of it. He said it is a nice shed. Receive comments on Variance No. 20-06, Lot 10, Block 5, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (101 Tiltwood Ct.). 6. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION Consider Variance No. 20-03: A request from Chris & Sarah Swank, requesting a variance to the City of Boerne Zoning Ordinance Article 5, Table 5-2, to allow for a side setback of 4-feet rather than the required 25-foot side setback for Lot 8, Block 4, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (137 Stablewood Ct.). Member Bergman said more than half of these variances we see are for setbacks. He said safety issues come up with the distance between fencing and structures. He said this one is difficult. Vice Chair Terrian said the shed needs to be moved out of the 10' irregardless. He said it needs to be out of the 5' in the rear and at least 10' on the side. Mike Mann explained that the Board has no jurisdiction for moving the shed out of easement. Scott Lowry asked Mike to explain the precedence. Mike Mann explained there is no precedence set by the board's decision. Vice Chair Terrian asked about granting up to the 10'. Mike explained the jurisdiction between utility and zoning. Member Harris asked about the developer opposing the variance. Mike said the 15' shown on the survey is the main building setback. This is an accessory structure and has a different side setback. Member Harris said they created this hardship themselves. Vice Chair Terrian said the land does not cause the hardship. City of Boerne Page 5 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals Mike said a unique circumstance is where a literal enforcement of the rules causes the hardship. Staff recommendation was not in favor due to a lack of a unique special condition. Vice Chair Terrian said if it was moved out of slope, it would level it out. Vice Chair Terrian motioned to grant a variance to the side yard setback to a distance of 15-feet in lieu of the required 25-foot side yard setback. Member Lewis seconded this motion. Member Harris opposed this motion. Variance approved 4-1 for a 15-foot side yard setback. Consider Variance No. 20-04: A request from Chris & Sarah Swank, requesting a variance to the City of Boerne Zoning Ordinance Article 5, Table 5-2, to allow for a rear setback of 2-feet 6-inches rather than the required 5-foot rear setback for Lot 8, Block 4, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (137 Stablewood Ct.). Secretary McCormick asked about the fire department having issues accessing the house. Vice Chair Terrian agreed but since we are allowing an encroachment on the side there's space. Vice Chair Terrian moved to deny. Member Harris seconded. All in favor to deny. Passed 5-0. Consider Variance No. 20-05: A request from Charles & Kelly Edwards, requesting a variance to the City of Boerne Zoning Ordinance Article 5, Table 5-2, to allow for a rear building setback of 6-feet rather than the required 20-foot rear building setback for Lot 10, Block 5, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (101 Tiltwood Ct.). Member Bergman said this is a different situation and looks like there is an erosion issue. Vice Chair Terrian said the action taken by the contractor to attach a slab to the foundation where a structure can be built and doesn't blame Code Enforcement to stop the work. He said City of Boerne Page 6 Printed on 12/10/2020 Zoning Board of Adjustment and Official Meeting Minutes October 21, 2020 Appeals you don't do anything in the City without speaking with a City official first. He said it could've been made out of something moveable like pavers or decking. He said a structure can be built on a slab. He went on to say that the contractor should fix it free of charge because he didn't get a permit. Member Harris said there was no regard to finding out setbacks. Member Lewis moved to deny the request for the 6' setback. Member Harris seconded. Secretary McCormick opposed this motion. Variance denied 4-1. Consider Variance No. 20-06: A request from Charles & Kelly Edwards, requesting a variance to the City of Boerne Zoning Ordinance Article 5, Table 5-2, to allow for a side setback of 1-1/2 feet rather than the required 5-foot side setback for Lot 10, Block 5, Regent Park, Unit 1, Phase 3 (101 Tiltwood Ct.). Vice Chair Terrian said he has the same condition with the AC in the side yard. However, doesn't see how someone can build a structure there. We are not setting a precedence. He doesn't see why tearing this out makes sense. Member Blaine agrees with Vice Chair Terrian that you can't build anything. Secretary McCormick said it looks like all one slab. Vice Chair Terrian moves to grant the variance. Member Lewis seconded. Variance passed 5-0. 7. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 6:41 p.m. _______________________________ Chair _______________________________ Secretary City of Boerne Page 7 Printed on 12/10/2020