HomeMy WebLinkAboutVA199100043 Action Letter 1991-10-09 tAk'1%
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COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE
Department of Zoning
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22901-4596
(804) 296-5875
October 09, 1991
Helen Sandridge Mundie
2285 Minor Hill Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
RE: Board of Zoning Appeals Action
Tax Map 62 , Parcel 53
Dear Ms. Mundie:
This letter is to inform you that on October 8, 1991, during the
meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Zoning Appeals, the Board
unanimously approved your request for VA-91-43 .
This variance approval allows relief from Section 10. 4 of the
Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance to allow existing home to remain
45 feet from new access easement.
If you have any questions, please contact our office.
Sincerely,
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Babette Thorpe
Zoning Assistant
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STAFF PERSON: Babette Thorpe
PUBLIC HEARING: 10/8/91
STAFF REPORT - VA-91-43
OWNER/APPLICANT: Lita F. Sandridge and Helen Sandridge Mundie
TAX MAP/PARCEL: 62-53
ZONING: RA, Rural Areas
ACREAGE: 35.060
LOCATION: On Route 621 approximately three-tenths of a mile
west of its intersection with Route 20 North.
REQUEST: The applicant requests relief from Section 10.4, Area
and Bulk Regulations, of the Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance,
which states:
Yards, minimum 75 feet
The applicant is seeking a variance of 30 feet in order to allow an
existing home to lie 45 feet from a new access easement proposed to
serve a two-acre lot to be created by a family division. The
applicant's justification includes the following:
1. The location of the proposed access easement is the most
practical site to serve the two acre lot. Moving the
easement far enough to the west of the property to avoid
making the house non-conforming would result in a long,
expensive roadway.
2 . The access easement as proposed would lie as far as
possible from Redbud Creek, which runs near the western
boundary of the property.
3 . The access easement is needed to make possible a family
subdivision.
RELEVANT HISTORY: The Planning Commission has recommended approval
of ZTA-91-06, which would reduce the setback required from private
roads in the Rural Areas to 25 feet. The Board of Supervisors will
consider this zoning text amendment at its meeting on October 2 ,
19914 The existing home could meet a 25-foot setback.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff agrees with the applicant that the proposed
location is the most suitable for an access easement. There
appears to be between 200 - 300 feet of floodplain along each side
of Redbud Creek, which would make subdivision and access easements
undesirable along the western portion of the property. In
addition, the proposed lot is close enough to the existing house
and far enough off the road to provide the visual benefits of a
cluster development surrounded by woodland.
For these reasons, staff believes that this request meets one of
the three conditions of approval:
Staff recommends for cause:
1. The applicant has provided evidence that the authorization of
such variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent
property and that the character of the district will not be
changed by the granting of the variance.
Nevertheless, because it would be possible to create a lot
elsewhere on this property that would not require a variance, staff
must recommend denial for cause:
1. The applicant has not provided evidence that the strict
application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship.
While there may be other ways in which the property could be
subdivided without a variance, it is important to note that
the site chosen presents environmental and aesthetic benefits
that may be lost if the property were subdivided differently.
2 . The applicant has not provided evidence that such hardship is
not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning
district and the same vicinity.