Board of Adjustment Meeting - August 24, 2016
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Board of Adjustment Meeting - August 24, 2016
The Board of Adjustment met on Wednesday, August 24, 2016, to consider two appeals and approve prior meeting minutes. The meeting resulted in the withdrawal of one appeal and the granting of a variance overturning a hearing officer's decision.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the meeting minutes from May 25, 2016, by a vote of 6-0 (Chairman Zell not voting as he was absent).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Paul Harbour (address 1537 East L'Viv Lane) spoke in support of Leland Miller's variance request, noting thoroughness and neighborhood support.
- Ben Forrett (1544 Caroline Lane) also spoke in support, stating the proposed structure would be an asset to the property and neighborhood, and that he did not object.
- A brief mention was made of an audience member wanting to challenge the July 5 hearing, but no formal comment was taken.
Discussion Items
-
Appeal of Boettcher Property (CE160196) – Withdrawn
- Applicant Alex Boettcher requested withdrawal of his appeal of the July 5, 2016 Hearing Officer's decision to abate public nuisance items at 2050 East Laguna Drive.
- Staff from Code Compliance (Michael Glab) confirmed that the property had been substantially cleaned up to meet city code requirements.
- The appeal was withdrawn with no further action required.
-
Appeal of Miller Residence (PL160187) – Variance for Side Yard Setback
- Applicant Leland Miller appealed the July 5, 2016 Hearing Officer's denial of a variance to reduce the east side yard setback from 9 feet to 6 feet (originally requested 6 ft 5 in) at 1536 East Caroline Lane.
- Miller argued for the variance based on:
- Lot size and shape (minimum lot width of 115 ft; his lot is narrower than many in the area).
- Topographical features at rear of lot that limit building elsewhere.
- Mature trees (30-year-old oak and palm) that would be destroyed if structure moved.
- Accessibility needs due to his medical condition (likely requiring a walker/scooter) and proximity of existing A/C unit.
- Numerous similar variances in the neighborhood (claimed up to 25, with 7 on his block alone).
- Staff (Dean Miller) confirmed that the applicant's list of prior variances was accurate after their own research.
- Board discussion focused on the four variance criteria. Chairman Lyon noted that many properties in the area had been granted similar variances, making the request not a special privilege, and that neighbors expressed no opposition.
Key Outcomes
- Boettcher Appeal: Withdrawn. No further action.
- Miller Variance: Motion by Mr. Lyon, seconded by Mr. Dalton, to grant the appellant's petition, thereby overturning the Hearing Officer's decision and approving the variance request. Passed with one dissent (Mr. Nagel) – final vote count: 5-1 (or possibly 6-1, as noted by Chairman regarding abstention).
- Adjournment: Motion passed with all in favor.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to uh call for a motion to uh approve the meeting for the uh May twenty-fifth, two thousand sixteen meeting. I second the approval. Uh the motion is uh seconded. So at this time uh let's uh let's call for a call for a vote. Uh all in favor of uh approving the minutes of the May twenty-fifth, two thousand sixteen meeting, uh please say aye. Um let the record show that uh the uh minutes for the May twenty-fifth, two thousand sixteen meeting were approved by a vote of uh six to zero, with uh Chairman Zell uh not voting because he wasn't present at the meeting, I think, I don't know, I don't know. Uh first we'll hear from the staff first. Mr. Miller or um actually um chairman sell it will be the applicant first. Hi, I'm Alex Becher. Is that on the mic? Yeah, I guess it is. Um I guess I'm withdrawing the appeal. Is that what I recall? Mr. Betcher is requesting to withdraw the abatement or the appeal of the abatement this evening because he has substantially cleaned up the property, and code enforcement feels that uh it has been done to the substantial amount that it it uh no longer needs to be abated. Okay, thank you, Mr. Butcher. Um we have Mr. GLAP come to the podium to confirm the report and the appeal. Good evening, gentlemen. Um Michael Glab with City of Tempe's co-compliance office. Um I have been out to the property as of this afternoon at approximately 3 p.m. And uh I can confirm and uh agree with Mr. Betcher that he has addressed the issues at his property to to meet the requirements of city code uh related to uh stored items, junk and debris. Um I I feel that he's met any requirements that uh code has related to that. Um so I would agree with his uh withdrawing of the appeal. Thank you. So for the record, the uh abatement procedure has been withdrawn, and no further action would need to be taken on our part. There was uh someone in the audience that wanted to challenge the July 5th, 6216 hearing, and that was Mr. Paul Harbour. Is there anything you want me to go up there? Yes, please come up to the the podium. Oh, I'm sorry, didn't I write you called my name, Paul Harper? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Okay, thank you. I did have the case number, it was just the uh July 5th hearing. So okay, thank you. Okay, the next case has to do with the Miller residence. It's case PL 160187, located at 1536 East Caroline Lane. The app is Layland Miller, and um the request is to overturn the hearing officer's decision to deny uh to deny the variance from moving the required setback from nine feet to six feet. This Mr. Miller. This is the Miller, Mr. Miller from the city. Thank you, Chairman Sell. Uh, this action is an appeal of the July 5th hearing officer decision to deny the variance request to reduce the side yard setback from nine feet to six feet. The address is 1536 East Caroline Lane. Property is west of McClintock Drive and south of Warner Road. The applicant is Leland Miller.
openpublica.com