On September 15, 2026, at approximately 10:00 AM, Hearing Examiner Joyce Nichols presided over a hybrid hearing for Case BA26-014V, a residential district variance petition filed by Charles Watkins. The petition requested a 3.5-foot variance from the required 7.5-foot side yard setback to construct a sunroom at 6243 Woodcrest Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043. The hearing was streamed via WebEx and the Banneker Room.
And summarized. All right, good morning. It is the 15th of September. It is approximately 10 a.m. We are here for application 26-014 V, which is an application for a side yard setback variance in order to construct a sunroom. The request is from the 7.5 required feet that a 3.5 foot variance be obtained, thereby reducing the side judge set book to four feet. So Mr. Watkins, Ms. Watkins, welcome today. It is your case. So you get to talk. Okay, thank you. Yes, we're uh applying for you know permit for the sunroom. And I think the 3.5 area that we're asking for is still, I guess it's still on our property line. I was just, you know, would like to see if we could get that approved so we can go ahead and move forward with that with that project. Okay. Let me help you. Um there are five requirements that you have to meet. And so I need you to help me make the findings for those five requirements. Okay. All right. So the first requirement is that there are unique physical conditions, including irregularity, narrowness or shallowness of the lot, exceptional topography, or other existing features peculiar to the particular lot, and as a result of the unique physical condition, hardships arise in complying strictly with the side yard setback of 7.5 feet. So this criteria goes to the actual physical condition of lot. All right. And in looking at your site plan, I notice that because of the way our code reads, and because of the way your house is situated, by law, what you would think of as your rear yard is really the side yard because of the way your house is situated. Okay, and that's where you run into trouble because you're putting the sunroom in the side yard instead of the rear yard. But that's because of the way the house is situated. So that's why you have such a small setback that you have to comply with. So tell me about, in addition to the location of the house, tell me about why your property, the property itself, is um is different than your neighbors, or why it causes you a hardship. Are there hills or there? Tell me about tell me about the property. Does it property slope? Are there trees? I mean, it it doesn't slope anything like that. It's basically on look like it's on this a slight incline, not that much of an incline. Um an incline from the street, Woodcrest Drive, towards the back of your property? Yeah, it just like so what do you think maybe that incline is? Couple feet? Yeah, a couple of feet. It's not it's not uh I know the d it when you come up the driveway, it slopes going upward. You know, so it's not steep. It's not a steep incline or anything like that. No, but but but there is a raise in topography from the front of your property from from the way we're talking about the front of your property being Woodcrest Drive and the rear being where you want to put the sun roof. So you're saying from Woodcrest Drive to the rear of your property, the property slopes upward a couple of feet? Yeah, a couple of feet. Okay. Two to three feet? Yeah. More? No more than that.