Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

VA-18-09-115 — ROBERT BURKHART

Request: Variance in the R-3 zoning district to validate an existing shed located 4 ft. from the side (north) property line in lieu of 5 ft. This is the result of code enforcement action.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: Staff noted that the subject property is a lakefront lot which contains 100 year floodplain. When the applicant purchased the property, the front half of the shed was in place exactly as currently situated. The applicant's mistake was adding onto the shed without first attempting to obtain a permit. To this point, the request is in-part not self-imposed, and in-part self-imposed. However, sheds are a common improvement, thus approving the request is not granting a special privilege, and the request is minor in nature. Requiring the relocation to meet the setback will actually result in more of the shed being located within the 100 year floodplain than currently does so. The applicant acknowledged that they made a mistake in not first obtaining the permit, and upon being informed by the code enforcement officer, attempted to correct their error. A member of the Code Enforcement Division noted that the applicant has been very cooperative, and did begin the process of attempting to correct the situation as soon as they were informed of their errors. There being no one in attendance to speak for or against the request, the public hearing was closed. The BZA concluded that the request was minimal, and was a variance which they would likely have recommended approval of had the applicant approached them before constructing the addition. They also appreciated the applicant's cooperation in correcting the error. A motion to recommend approval with the conditions recommended by staff passed unanimously.