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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-19 BZA Staff Report VARIANCE APPLICATION #02-19 CARL FERTIG AND JOANNA FERTIG Staff Report for the Board of Zoning Appeals Prepared: April 4, 2018 Staff Contact: Mark Cheran, Zoning Administrator ______________________________________________________________________________ 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: April 16, 2019 Public Hearing; Action Pending LOCATION: The property is located at 385 Burnt Factory Road, Stephenson, Virginia. MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT: Stonewall PROPERTY ID NUMBER: 56-A-1-A5 PROPERTY ZONING & USE: Zoned: RA (Rural Areas) Land Use: Residential ADJOINING PROPERTY ZONING & USE: North: RA (Rural Areas) Use: Residential 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 26.1-foot right side yard variance to a required 50-foot right side setback resulting in a 23.9-foot right side setback to allow for the alleviation of a setback violation resulting from a detached garage being attached to the primary dwelling via a breezeway. REASON FOR VARIANCE: The subject property currently has setback and building permit violations resulting from a detached garage being attached to the primary dwelling via a breezeway. The Fredrick County Zoning Ordinance requires RA (Rural Areas) zoned properties have a 50-foot right side setback from adjoining properties of 6-acres or less. The Applicant has constructed an attached garage that is in violation of the 50-foot right side setback. Variance #02-19 – Carl Fertig and Joanna Fertig Page 2 April 4, 2019 STAFF COMMENTS: The Applicant applied for a building permit on October 11, 2017 for a detached garage. The Applicant’s building permit (#2067-2017), specified the following setbacks: Front 60-feet, Right 23-feet, Left 108-feet, and Rear 99-feet. Setbacks for detached structures in the RA Zoning District are 15-feet side and rear, 60-feet from state road, and 45-feet from a private Right-of-Way. Staff received a complaint that the Applicant added a breezeway to connect the garage to the primary dwelling. The original dwelling appears to be in compliance; the garage addition does not comply with setbacks due to the addition of a breezeway which makes the garage attached to the primary dwelling instead of detached. This application for a variance does not meet the requirements as set forth by The Code of Virginia 15.2-2209 (2), and the Frederick County Zoning Ordinance. The setback requirements of the RA Zoning District do not produce an unreasonable restriction on the property. The Applicant should have applied for a variance prior to constructing the breezeway that connected the garage to the dwelling. Therefore, Staff would recommend denial of this variance application, as the violation of the setback requirements was self-inflicted. STAFF CONCLUSIONS FOR THE APRIL 16, 2019 MEETING: The Code of Virginia 15.2-2309 (2) and Code of Frederick 165-1001.2, states that no variance shall be granted unless the application can meet the following requirements: 1) The property interest for which the variance is being requested was acquired in good faith. 2) The granting of the variance will not be a substantial detriment to adjoining property or nearby properties in the proximity of that geographical area. 3) The condition or situation of the property concerned is not of so general or recurring as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation to be adopted as an amendment to the ordinance. 4) The granting of the variance does not result in a use that is otherwise permitted on such property or a change in the zoning classification of the property. 5) The relief or remedy sought by the variance is not available through a special exception or the process for modification of a zoning ordinance. The Applicant is seeking a 26.1-foot right side yard variance. Should this variance be granted, the building setbacks for this property would be 60-feet in the front, 50-feet in the rear, 50-feet on the left side, and would change to 23.9-feet on the right side. It appears that this variance does not meet the intent of the Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-2309 (2). This request from the current setbacks of Variance #02-19 – Carl Fertig and Joanna Fertig Page 3 April 4, 2019 the RA Zoning District may not be justified. Staff would recommend denial of this variance application, as the violation of the setback requirements was self-inflicted. The strict application of the Frederick County Zoning Ordinance did not produce an unreasonable restriction on the property as required by the Code of Virginia 15.2-2309 (2).