Board of Zoning Appeals

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS February 22, 2012 Members Present: Staff/Others Present: Tony Boyd Shari Brown, AICP Mark Byington Judy Carrier Richard Reecher Members Absent: David Hyde, Chairman Ted Koehner The Bristol Tennessee Board of Zoning Appeals called meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, by Tony Boyd. MINUTES: Mark Byington made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 3, 2011, meeting, seconded by Richard Reecher. The motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: A. Administrative Appeal – Virginia Graves, 208 Hunter Hills Shari Brown stated that the owner of the property addressed as 208 Hunter Hills, Unit 2, as shown on Sullivan County Tax Map 21M Group B Parcel 5.09, had requested that the Bristol, Tennessee Board of Zoning Appeals hear an administrative appeal of the denial of a building permit to construct a covered deck which, as proposed, encroached nine (9) feet into the 30’ rear yard setback set forth by Section 305 and Section 311 for the R-3 (Multi- Family Residential) zoning district. The applicant’s agent, Tennessee Valley Aluminum, had provided a drawing which showed the addition would be 10 feet deep and that the distance between the rear lot line and the building was 37 feet. According to the measurements submitted with the application, the 30 foot rear yard setback, for the R-3 (Multi-Family Residential) zoning district, could not be met. The permit was denied as a result of insufficient setback distance. Ms. Brown stated that the Bristol Tennessee Code of Ordinances provides a procedure for appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals in Section 2-137 (b) which states that Appeals to the board may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by any officer, department or board of the city affected, by any grant or refusal of a building permit or other act or decision of an administrative official of the city based in whole or in part on the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 905 (2) further addresses the request stating that the Board of Zoning Appeals has the power  To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, permit, decision, or refusal made by an administrative official in the carrying out or enforcement of any provision of this Zoning Ordinance. Ms. Brown informed the Board that uncovered wood deck attached to Unit 2 which met the setback requirements of the Zoning Ordinance, since uncovered decks may encroach the setback up to 15 feet, but also remain a minimum of 10 feet from the rear lot line. Ms. Brown stated that the applicant asserted that since 208 Hunter Hills, Unit 3 had an enclosed room that was similar in location and size to the applicant’s proposed structure, the same should be allowed for Unit 2. In response to the complaint that the structure for Unit 3 had been allowed yet the structure for Unit 2 had been denied, staff researched the building permit history back to 1992 and there were not any permits for the subsequent construction of the decks, the covers, and the enclosed rooms for 208 Hunter Hills. Richard Reecher stated that assuming that aerials were correct he felt the buildings were the same distance from the property line. He also stated that the deck on Unit #3 did not meet the setback requirements and felt that it should be taken into consideration. Tony Boyd asked why the applicant was not asking for a variance. Mr. Chuck Odum from Tennessee Valley Aluminum, stated that the request did not meet the requirements for a variance and he was concerned that it would be turned down. Tony Boyd stated that the Board had granted variances in the past when they were not warranted. Mr. Odum stated that he had applied for a variance once before on another property and was turned down and felt that his chances were better in this case with an Administrative Appeal. Mr. Odum stated that the applicant, Virginia Graves, had an eye condition that prevented her from being in the sunlight and needed the shaded porch to be able to go outside. Tony Boyd asked Mr. Odum why he felt that City staff had made an error in their decision when they had followed the regulations. Mr. Odum stated that he knew that staff had followed the regulations but felt the request should be granted because the other units were also encroaching the setback. Richard Reecher stated that there had been some mistakes made with the already encroaching units and wondered if the Board would be perpetuating the problem if they voted to grant the appeal. Richard Reecher asked what the end result of approving the Administrative Appeal would be. Ms. Brown stated that the board would be approving the construction of the porch and allowing the encroachment into the setback. Tony Boyd stated that by approving the Administrative Appeal the Board would be saying that 2 they were stating that staff had made an error. Mr. Reecher stated that he did not feel that staff had made an error. Mr. Boyd advised the applicant to file a variance request. Richard Reecher made a motion to uphold staff’s decision, seconded by Mark Byington. The motion carried unanimously. It was the consensus of the Board to hold a called meeting on Thursday, March 1, 2012, to hear the case as a variance request. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m. __________________________________ David Hyde, Chairman 3