Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutVA199200028 Action Letter 1992-08-12 COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE Department of Zoning 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, Virginia 22901-4596 (804) 296-5875 • August 12 , 1992 • G. Blair or Karen Turner P. O. Box 517 Ivy, VA 22945 RE: Board of Zoning Appeals Action VA-92-28 Tax Map 58, Parcel 93B Dear Mr. & Mrs. Turner: This letter is to inform you that on August 11, 1992, during the regular meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Zoning Appeals, the Board unanimously (5: 0) approved your request for VA-92-28 with no conditions. The variance approval grants relief from Section 10.4 of the Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance to reduce the front setback from 75 to 72 feet to allow an existing garage to remain as built. If you have any questions, please contact our office. Sincerely, Q Babette Thorpe Zoning Assistant AGM/st cc: Inspections Department, 90-1119NNR ,.File STAFF PERSON: Babette Thorpe PUBLIC HEARING: 7/14/92 STAFF REPORT - VA-92-28 OWNER/APPLICANT: Blair and Karen Turner TAX MAP/PARCEL: 58-93B ZONING: Rural Areas, RA ACREAGE: 5.712 LOCATION: North side of Route 786/637 about .2 mile south of its intersection with Route 250 West. REQUEST: In order to allow a garage to remain as built, the applicant requests relief from Section 10.4 of the Ordinance, which requires that structures be set back 75 feet from the edge of the right-of-way in Rural Areas. The garage lies 72 feet from the right-of-way of Route 637. The applicant's justification includes the following: Removing the existing garage would produce extreme financial hardship. Garage was built 2 1/2 feet within the 75-foot setback requirement due to measurement errors by the County Inspector and/or the builder. The County Inspector measured and verified the distance to be correct before the building was built. RELEVANT HISTORY: A building permit for a garage with a second- story apartment was issued on July 24 , 1990, based on a 100-foot setback drawn on the plat by the builder. After the footings were dug, a County Inspector noted that the building was too close to the right-of-way and indicated how far back the footings had to be moved to comply with the 75-foot setback. The builder followed the Inspector's directions and moved the footings. The setback was approved and a certificate of occupancy was issued on June 21, 1991. The Turners moved into the apartment and began working on a house, which is nearly completed. They intend to remove the kitchen from the apartment once they move into the house. The garage will then be used as a guest house, not as a separate dwelling unit. As the house neared completion, the Turners had a physical survey done. This survey indicated that the garage and apartment actually lay only 72 feet from the right-of-way, due to a slight jog the right- of-way takes toward thm property. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval for cause: 1. The applicant has provided evidence that the strict application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship. This garage/apartment is a substantial structure of one and one-half stories measuring 1700 square feet and surrounded by extensive landscaping. It would be a hardship to move this structure now that it has been built. Moreover, moving this structure would involve grading on some steep slopes that are now stable, covered with grass. 2 . The applicant has provided evidence that such hardship is not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning district and the same vicinity. Part of the hardship stems from the County Inspector's mistake in figuring the setback required from the right-of-way. 3 . 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. Several of the existing houses in the area that predate the Ordinance appear to lie closer to Route 637 than 75 feet. The Turner's garage, an attractive structure with a gabled roofline, shingles and board-and-batten siding, matches the house being built on the property. Several large cedars and newly-planted sycamores screen the garage from Route 637.