To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mary Shaw, Zoning Manager
Title
Discussion/Direction: Board of Adjustment Variance Criteria
Body
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Executive Summary
The powers and duties of the Board of Adjustment (the Board) as cited in Town code, are to hear and decide appeals for variance of strict enforcement of the zoning and sign codes.
The purpose of this memorandum is to seek direction from Town Council on a code amendment to clarify the Board of Adjustment criteria for approval of variance requests.
Discussion
The Board of Adjustment has the power to hear and decide appeals from zoning regulations for lot area, lot width, building height, minimum setbacks, parking regulations, landscape requirements, fence height, illumination, and sign regulations.
Prior to 2013, Board of Adjustment criteria for approval of variance required applicants to provide evidence of special circumstances, creating a practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship if the Town zoning code was enforced. When portions of the Municipal Code and technical manuals were amended in an effort to simplify the development process, the Board criteria for approval of variances were also amended. Since then, the Board has experienced difficulty formulating findings for approval under the newly adopted variance criteria using hardship, harm, and harmony (Attachment A) as standards for findings related to the Board of Adjustment’s decision.
The Board held a special study session on October 16, 2014, and identified a need to amend the variance criteria currently cited in Town code. Using the former Town Code and other Colorado municipal codes as benchmarks, the Board collectively developed new variance criteria to meet the purpose and intent of the Board of Adjustment powers and duties. Board members were in favor to amend the current Code to be less subjective to establish findings for deciding a variance.
Key Issues
Modify Board of Adjustment variance approval criteria to enable findings based on unique physical characteristics and community character.
Staff Recommendation
The Board of Adjustment identified the need and developed new code intended to better define standards for making decisions and findings for request for variance from zoning regulations. Staff recommends that Council direct staff to prepare a draft ordinance amendment for the Board of Adjustment powers and duties.
Proposed Motion
There is no proposed motion for this discussion item.
Attachments
Attachment A: Powers and Duties