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BZA - Oct 9, 2008 |
Draft Minutes McClellanville Board of Zoning Appeals October 9, 2008 - 7:00 PM The McClellanville Board of Zoning Appeals met on the above-noted date to hear a request from Bill Bates to vary the requirements of Section 5.1.6.3 of the McClellanville Zoning and Land Development Ordinance, the minimum setback requirements for the Historic (H) District. Notice of the meeting had been published in the Charleston Post and Courier. Chairman Eddie Richards presided at the meeting, and all members were present: Cheves Leland, Gabe Purvis, Nic Church and Ballard Lesemann. Also present were Zoning Administrator Kathryn Basha, Clerk Mary Duke, and the applicant, Bill Bates. Chairman Richards called the meeting to order at 7:09 PM. Kathryn asked each member to identify him/herself for voice recognition purposes in the recording of the meeting. Chairman Richards then asked the members to review the minutes of the most recent previous meeting on June 19, 2007. Cheves Leland said that she thought one question at the meeting was whether the tree to be considered for removal was one grand tree or two, not three, significant trees that had grown together. Some other members indicated that they thought the landscape architect at the meeting had maintained that three trees had grown together and should be measured separately. Cheves also said that the recording of her vote on the final motion to approve removal of the tree (or trees, if they were considered separately) on the condition that the property owner submit a replanting schedule to be approved by the zoning administrator, was inaccurate. The minutes showed Cheves voted "aye," and Cheves said that she had voted "no" on the motion. Clerk Mary Duke then amended the minutes to show that Cheves had voted "no." The minutes were further amended to state that the order of the Board was approved by majority, not unanimous vote. Nic Church then made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Ballard Lesemann and unanimously approved. The Board then began its consideration of the application from Bill Bates for a variance from the setback requirements for his property on Drayton Street, Charleston County TMS No. 764-15-00-050. Chairman Richards asked Mr. Bates to explain his application. Mr. Bates said that the lot in question pre-dated the current ordinance requirements for lot size. He said that, for the planned construction of a residence on the lot, he would be able to meet the requirements for impervious surface coverage, building height, and the FEMA flood code requirements. However, he said that the narrowness of the lot would make the planned second floor of the house unusable. Also, he said that if he built the house within the required 15 ft. setbacks, he believed that the size of the house he could build would look out of proportion with the houses on neighboring properties. Thus, he was requesting to reduce the required 15 ft. side setback to 10ft. Gabe Purvis asked Mr. Bates whether the lot would meet SC DHEC requirements for a septic system and water well. Mr. Bates said that DHEC had already approved a site for a septic system on the lot. Gabe asked whether Kathryn Basha or Mary knew the DHEC requirements for allowing septic systems on lots. Mary said she believed there was a minimum distance of separation required between the septic system and the well, though she did not remember the exact amount of separation required. Kathryn said that approval for different types of septic systems often depended on the soil present on the lot. Nic Church asked Kathryn what the maximum size would be for a house built on the lot without a setback variance. Kathryn said that her calculations indicated that the maximum size would be approximately 1625 sq. ft. for a two story house, or just over 800 sq. ft. per floor. With the variance to allow 10 ft. side setbacks, Kathryn said that the maximum house size would increase to approximately 2150 total, or just over 1000 sq. ft. per floor. Kathryn brought to the Board's attention a map she had brought, which showed the number of non-conforming lots present in the Historic District. She pointed out that there were roughly 13 lots in the HD that were nonconforming according to the current ordinance requirements. She added that variances, if granted, were valid for two years. If construction on the project had not begun within two years of the date of the variance, the variance would expire. Gabe Purvis then asked Mr. Bates if he planned to build on the lot within two years. Mr. Bates said that he hoped to do so, if he was successful in getting a loan for the construction. Cheves Leland noted that the Board had received two letters from neighboring property owners, objecting to the variance. She asked whether conditions, such as a maximum house size, could be added to a variance. Zoning Administrator Kathryn Basha said that the Board did have the authority to add conditions to an order to approve a variance. Both Gabe Purvis and Bill Bates, however, said that they questioned the Board's authority to attach any conditions. Ballard Lesemann pointed out that houses in the Village of McClellanville exhibited a great variety of styles and sizes. He said that he did not believe granting the setback variance to allow this construction would be detrimental to the neighborhood. Ballard then made a motion to approve the variance to allow 10 ft. side setbacks on the lot in question. Gabe Purvis said that he was still concerned about the two neighboring property owners who had expressed disapproval of the proposed variance. BZA Secretary Cheves Leland reviewed with the Board the four factors that they were charged to use when determining whether a hardship existed that would justify granting a variance. Chairman Eddie Richards said that a motion was on the table, made by Ballard Lesemann, to approve the variance. He asked whether there was a second for the motion, and Cheves Leland provided the second. He then asked for any discussion on the motion. Nic Church said that he was uncomfortable with changing the requirements of the zoning ordinance, particularly when neighbors objected to the change. He said that he felt the property owner could build a smaller house on the lot that would not require a setback variance. Bill Bates said that, in his opinion, the complaints from neighbors were not completely valid, as the letters maintained that the lot was not buildable. Kathryn Basha confirmed that the lot was buildable as stated in Section 4.3 of the McClellanville Zoning and Land Development Ordinance. She said that a small one-story house could be built on the lot without a variance, but that a variance would be needed for a two-story house in order to allow adequate usable space on the second floor. Chairman Richards then called for a vote on the motion. The vote was as follows: Eddie Richards voted "aye," Ballard Lesemann voted "aye," Nic Church voted "no," Gabe Purvis voted "aye," and Cheves Leland voted "aye." The motion to approve the variance was carried by a 4 to 1 majority vote. Bill Bates then left the meeting at 8:00 PM. Cheves Leland discussed with the Board Members the language to be used in completing the order for approval of the variance. After the order was completed and read to the members, Gabe Purvis made a motion to approve the Order of the Board. The motion was duly seconded, and the vote on the motion was as follows: Cheves Leland voted "aye," Gabe Purvis voted "aye," Nic Church voted "no," Ballard Lesemann voted "aye," and Eddie Richards voted "aye." The motion was carried by a 4 to 1 majority vote. There being no further business, Ballard Lesemann then made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 PM. The motion was seconded by Gabe Purvis and carried by unanimous vote. Mary S. Duke Town Clerk |