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Zoning Board of Adjustments Minutes - 11/20/2024 MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT November 20, 2024 PRESENT: Brady Enlow •Alternate#2 Rick Hernandez •Member Kerry Maroney •Member Richard Milhollon •Alternate David Waddell •Member James McKechnie, Deputy City Attorney •City Staff Terry Floyd, Development Services Director •City Staff Fabian Medellin, ACIP Planning Manager •City Staff Cedric Hu, Planning Technician •City Staff Robin Marshall, Admin Assistant •City Staff ABSENT: I. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Kerry Maroney called the meeting to order at 1 :31 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Mr. Maroney introduced the board of adjustment members. III. APPOINT NEW CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIR Mr. Maroney asked for nominations for the position of Chairman. Mr. Maroney made a motion to nominate Rick Hernandez as Chairman. Mr. David Waddell seconded the motion. Mr. Maroney asked if there was any public comments or discussion. There were no comments made from the public. Mr. Maroney asked Mr. Hernandez if he would accept the nomination as Chairman, and he said he would. Mr. Maroney took the motion to elect Rick Hernandez as Chairman to vote, and it passed 5-0. Mr. Maroney turned the meeting over to the newly elected Chairman Hernandez. Chairman Hernandez opened the floor to nominations for the position of Vice Chair. Board of Adjustment 2 November 20, 2024 Mr. Richard Milhollon made a motion to nominate Kerry Maroney as Vice Chair. Mr. David Waddell seconded the motion. Chairman Hernandez asked if there were any public comments, and no comments were made. He then asked Mr. Maroney if he would be willing to accept the position if voted on, and Mr. Maroney said he would. Chairman Hernandez took the motion to elect Mr. Kerry Maroney as Vice Chair to vote, and it passed 5-0. IV. MINUTES Chairman Hernandez asked members if there were any revisions that may be needed to the minutes. No corrections or revisions were made. Mr. Brady Enlow made a motion to approve the minutes from the March 20, 2024 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting (ZBOA). Mr. David Waddell seconded the motion. Chairman Hernandez asked for any public comments. There were no comments from the public. The motion was taken to a vote which passed unanimously, 5-0. IV. REGULAR AGENDA Case V24-03 - 4621 Harbor Road Request for variance to allow for an accessory dwelling unit on a residential lot less than the required minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet Applicant— Mr. William Hitchcock Location — 4621 Harbor Road Mr. Fabian Medellin presented the case and explained that this case is broken down into two parts. The qualifying criteria and the evaluation criteria. Firstly, the board will have to determine whether the request qualifies, before we move on to the evaluation criteria. If the vote for qualification does not meet the four votes (in favor) needed, then the motion dies. The request from our applicant is to defer, or to deviate from our zoning ordinance Section 65-15, which regulates residential accessory uses. In that section of the ordinance there is a minimum lot size requirement in order to allow for that accessory dwelling unit, which is 10,000 square feet. If a lot is not larger than 10,000 square feet, then it doesn't meet the requirement and will not be allowed the accessory use. Mr. Hitchcock was trying to pull a permit when he was informed that his lot does not meet the required 10,000 sq. feet. Mr. Medellin gave information regarding the location of the property and surrounding properties, and then discussed the site plan. It was noted that Mr. Hitchcock met all of Board of Adjustment 3 November 20, 2024 the other zoning requirements for his plans, i.e., setbacks, heights, and lot coverage. His permit would not be approved due to lot size not meeting minimum requirements. Staff sent out notifications to property owners within the 200-foot radius of the subject site, and only one response was received, which was in favor of the case. Mr. Medellin mentioned that Mr. Hitchcock told staff the request is to allow for his disabled adult son could live in the unit, so it would be easier for family to care for him. Mr. Hitchcock would need to show that there are unique circumstances, not by his own doing. The following are the required points for consideration. 1 . State special conditions or circumstances which exist which are peculiar to the land, structure, or building, involved and which are not applicable to other land, structures, or building in the same district. Mr. Medellin stated staff agrees that special conditions and circumstances exist at this property within the district. The current residence was built in 1960's which was twenty some years prior to city ordinances being put in place. At that time, lot size was typically 50 feet by 150 feet, approximately 7,500 square feet in total. (Which is the approximate size of the subject lot.) He added that there are some areas in town that are less than 10,000 square feet in size where that use is allowed, and it does work well within those areas. 2. Demonstrate that the special conditions and circumstances do not result from the actions of the applicant. Mr. Medellin noted that Mr. Hitchcock did not have anything to do with dividing the land when it was platted, and he did not build the house. That was done by the developer in the sixties. Staff also wants to take into consideration who would be occupying the structure, and we would like to be able to allow those with disabilities independent housing that, in this case, would allow accessible care to be easily available to them. 3. State how a literal interpretation of the provisions of this Ordinance would deprive the applicant of a right commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same district under the terms of this Ordinance. Mr. Medellin spoke about the ordinances being put in place in the late eighties, and looked at why they would have put the minimum sized lot for an accessory unit at 10,000 square feet. He feels it was done that way to prevent congestion, and to ensure there would be open space on each parcel which would allow for air circulation and prevention of fire hazards. Mr. Hitchcock stated that the lot size being less that 10,000 square feet currently limits the addition of the ADU to his property. Other properties within that same district with lot size over 10,000 square feet do not have that restriction. Lot usage for the subject lot will still be under the 50% lot coverage. Board of Adjustment 4 November 20, 2024 4. State how granting the variance would be in harmony with the objectives of the Ordinance and would not confer upon the applicant any special privilege, which is denied by the Ordinance to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district. Mr. Medellin informed the Board that Mr. Hitchcock stated that there would be no special privileges, and if the lot size was 2,500 square feet larger then there would be no issues in securing a permit for the ADU. The ADU will be for a disabled adult son, and will not be used for any means of financial gain. Mr. Medellin discussed lot coverage, and stated that the 50% rule is proportionate to your lot, and explained that the bigger your lot size, the more square footage you can add. The flip side to that is the smaller your lot size, the less square footage you can add. He stated he felt there would be no special privileges because that coverage would still be proportionate no matter what size your lot is. Staff agrees that granting the variance would not confer upon Mr. Hitchcock any special privileges not granted to anyone else in that district, and that all building codes will have to be adhered to. There were some questions from the Board regarding clarification of the size of the ADU and lot size. Mr. Medellin explained that the total square footage of all structures has to be equal to or less than 50% of the land's total square footage. He also stated with the proposed ADU, the total coverage for the subject lot was around 43%, so it would be under the 50% coverage. Vice Chair Kerry Maroney moved to approve the qualifying criteria, and Richard Milhollon seconded the motion. Chairman Hernandez opened the floor to public comment. Mr. Hitchcock made a few comments and asked for their consideration for the case. There was no further discussion. Chairman Hernandez took the motion to vote, and it passed with a 5-0 vote. Mr. Medellin presented the following: 1 . The granting of the variance will not be contrary to the public interest. 2. Special conditions exist, other than financial hardship alone, whereby a literal enforcement of the terms of the Ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship to the owner of the land. 3. The variance will not permit an activity upon the land, which is not allowed by the terms of the Zoning Ordinance. 4. The granting of the variance: • Is consistent with the intent of this Ordinance; • Is in harmony therewith; and • Will not be injurious to the neighborhood or detrimental to the public welfare. Board of Adjustment 5 November 20, 2024 Mr. Medellin feels the lot is large enough to still allow for the 50% coverage, there would be no fire concerns, and air circulation would not be hindered. He said staff does recommend the approval of the variance request from Appendix B, Section 6515e at 4621 Harbor Road. To allow for the ADU on the residential lot that is below the minimum 10,000 square foot lot size. Mr. Kerry Maroney made the motion to approve the variance and Mr. Brady Enlow seconded the motion. Chairman Hernandez asked if there were any public comments. It was asked if the structure would still have to meet all code requirements, and Mr. Medellin stated that it would have to meet all code requirements. Chairman Hernandez took the motion to vote, and the motion passed 5-0. V. ADJOURN Chairman Hernandez adjourned the Board at 1:57 p.m. DateVac/2 4 err3 Marones abian Medellin, Director of Development Services Date