HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-13 BZA Staff Report
VARIANCE APPLICATION #02-13
KELLY B. RITTER
Staff Report for the Board of Zoning Appeals
Prepared: May 1, 2013
Staff Contact: Dana M. Johnston, Zoning Inspector
______________________________________________________________________________
This report is prepared by the Frederick County Planning Staff to provide information to the Board
of Zoning Appeals to assist them in making a decision on this request. It may also be useful to
others interested in this zoning matter.
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS HEARING DATE:
May 21 , 2013 – Pending
LOCATION
: East side of Welltown Road (Route 611), approximately 0.9 miles north of the
intersection with Cedar Hill Road (Route 671).
MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT
: Stonewall
PROPERTY ID NUMBER
: 33-A-12C
PROPERTY ZONING & USE
Land Use: Vacant and Residential
: Zoned: RA
ADJOINING PROPERTY ZONING & USE
:
North: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Vacant
South: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Vacant
East: RA (Rural Areas Use: Residential
West: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Vacant
VARIANCE REQUESTED:
The applicant is requesting a 75 foot right side yard variance, resulting in a 25 foot right side yard
setback, and a 50 foot rear yard variance, resulting in a 50 foot rear yard setback, for a single family
dwelling.
REASON FOR VARIANCE:
The placement of the drainfield leaves virtually no buildable area on the lot.
Variance #02-13 – Kelly B. Ritter
May 1, 2013
Page 2
STAFF COMMENTS:
Frederick County adopted zoning in 1967. The Frederick County historical zoning map shows this
property was zoned A-2 (Agricultural General) in 1967. The property setback lines at the adoption
of the zoning ordinance were 35 feet for the front and 15 feet for the side yards. Frederick County
amended its Ordinance in 1989 and 2009 to change the A-2 zoning district to the current RA (Rural
Areas) Zoning District, making the current setbacks for the property 60 feet to the front, 100 feet to
the left side, 100 feet to the right side, and 100 feet to the rear.
Based on the small size of this property and the large setbacks associated with the RA zoning district,
as well as the location of the drainfield, staff believes this does produce an undue hardship. The
applicant is requesting a 75 foot right side yard variance, resulting in a 25 foot right side yard
setback, and a 50 foot rear yard variance, resulting in a 50 foot rear yard setback, for a 1,728 square
foot single family house.
STAFF CONCLUSIONS FOR THE MAY 21, 2013 MEETING:
The Code of Virginia 15.2-2309 (2), states that no variance shall be granted unless the application
can meet the following requirements:
1) The strict application of the Ordinance will produce an undue hardship.
2) The hardship is not generally shared by the properties in the same zoning district and
vicinity.
3) That the authorization of such variance will not be a substantial detriment to the adjacent
property and the character of the district will not be changed by the variance.
It appears that this variance meets the intent of the Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-2309 (2). This
request from the current setbacks of the RA zoning district may be justified.