Board of Adjustment Meeting - September 26, 2019
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Board of Adjustment Meeting - September 26, 2019
The Board of Adjustment met on September 26, 2019, to consider two public hearing items: a special use permit for a hookah cafe and a variance for a single-family group development. Both applications were approved after deliberation. A third agenda item (a tattoo establishment) was continued to the October meeting due to lack of a quorum.
Discussion Items
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved with a correction. The correction clarified that on page 7, Mr. Bullock made the motion and Ms. Evans seconded the findings of fact, and in the second sentence, Mrs. Bellis made the motion and Ms. Evans seconded the approval for the request. The minutes were approved as amended.
Public Hearings
- Special Use Permit for Hookah Cafe (Naj Jabbar): The applicant sought a special use permit to operate a hookah cafe at 3016 South Memorial Drive. Staff reported the property is .53 acres with an 1,800 sq. ft. commercial building, zoned CH (heavy commercial). Recommended conditions included no loitering or outdoor activities, no operation as a tobacco shop (Class 1 or 2), and no de facto nightclub. The applicant stated he would comply with all conditions, would not sell tobacco products, and would close by 10 p.m. (with possible later hours on weekends but would abide by any limit). No public opposition was expressed. Staff had no objection. The board voted unanimously to approve the request with the recommended conditions.
- Variance for Single-Family Group Development (Michael Baldwin): The applicant requested a variance from the 16-foot separation requirement between principal structures (Section 94-145) for three single-family units at 411 West Third Street. The units were built in 1940 and are 15'3" and 15'4" apart. Staff noted the property is in CD (downtown commercial) zoning, which has no minimum setbacks, but the multifamily regulations require 16-foot separation. The applicant argued that the buildings were constructed before the regulation, the renovation was done in good faith, and denial would cause unnecessary hardship. Some board members initially expressed concerns about precedent and the timing of the renovation. After further discussion and legal clarification on hardship criteria, the board voted 7-0 on each variance criterion (unnecessary hardship, unique circumstances, harmony with ordinance, public safety/welfare). The variance was approved with conditions requiring a site plan for common area and homeowner’s association documents to be recorded.
Key Outcomes
- Special Use Permit (Hookah Cafe): Approved unanimously with staff-recommended conditions.
- Variance (Michael Baldwin): Approved (7-0) with conditions; the board made findings that all four statutory criteria were met.
- Continuance: The third agenda item (a tattoo establishment application) was continued to the October meeting because only five voting members were present, insufficient for the required quorum of six. A motion to continue was passed unanimously.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned after the continuance motion.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, welcome to the uh meeting of the Board of Adjustment. This time a call to order, Madam Secretary. Where'd you go? Would you please call a roll? Nathan Colwing. Ann Bellis. Rodney Bullock. Here. James Moretz? Here. Bill Johnson? Here. Sharon Evans. Here. Michael Glenn. Hump McKinnon? Here. Dylan Godley. Stephen Atkinson. Okay, Mr. Phillips, who votes tonight. Good evening, Mr. Chairman and members of the board. Uh, as to the first matter uh on the agenda of the new business, the voting members, everyone that's here tonight will be a voting member for that one. As to number three, as it currently stands, that matter will need to be continued over until the next meeting because we would have to have a quorum of six. Mr. Cohen is not here. Mr. Godley, who would have been able to have filled in that position had Mr. Cohen not been here, would have been able to be a voting member. Um, and so we only have five, and Mr. Moretz or Mr. McKinnon cannot vote because they weren't here to hear that matter. So that matter will need to be continued over until the October meeting. At what point in time do we have to have one somebody show up? Uh I think we yeah, I think we'll what we I would recommend to do is do each one individually. And uh so we'll start with vote number one or the matter number one, and then that would be before all members present tonight. Um, and then vote number two, and again, that will be all members present tonight unless circumstances change before that. Okay. Um so um, and then uh I'll go ahead if you don't mind while I'm up here and go ahead and read the matter regarding the new business, and then perhaps we can go to the minutes after that, or I'll we can do the minutes and then I'll I'll just stand here and whatever you prefer. Okay. Uh I'll go ahead then with the statement that I normally read regarding the new business. Um actually, let me back up. Why don't you go ahead and do the minutes since that's on the agenda? Okay. Do I hear a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting? So moved. I I think there was some changes. There was a there's a correction on uh the page seven, I think it is. Um we got a couple of members who were not there, even though they said it would voted, but it didn't went here.
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