HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_ZBA_05.16.2006Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, April 18, 2006 Page 1 of 3
City of Georgetown
Zoning Board of Adjustment Meeting
Minutes
May 16, 2006, at 6:00 P.M.
City Council Chambers
101 E. 7th Street, Georgetown, Texas 78626
Members present: William Moore, Chair; Earl Watson, Vice-Chair; Jim Jarvis; Ann Snell;
Alternates present: Steven Lampinstein, Patrick Lawson, and Dale Ross
Members absent: Richard Vasquez III.
Staff present: Bobby Ray, Director, Planning & Development; Rebecca Rowe, Planner; and
Karen Frost, Recording Secretary.
This is a regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of the City of Georgetown. The
Board, appointed by the Mayor and the City Council, acts on requests for variances,
interpretations and special exceptions under the Georgetown Zoning Ordinance.
Order of Hearing Process:
Staff makes a presentation of the project to the Board;
The applicant is provided an opportunity to present their project to the Board;
The Board asks questions of both Staff and the applicant;
*The Public Hearing is open, and both proponents and opponents are allowed to speak;
The Public Hearing is closed and the Board deliberates on the merits of the case; and,
The Board generates findings to support their decision, a motion is made and seconded,
and a vote is taken on the motion presented.
Variance approvals require an affirmative vote of 4 members of the Board.
* Those who speak please identify yourselves for the meeting record.
Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 6:00 p.m.
Call to order: 6:07 p.m.
Chair Moore led the Pledge of Allegiance. Moore presented the Order of Business and how the
meeting would be run.
(The Board may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the
request of the Chair, a Board Member, the Director or legal counsel for any purpose authorized
by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.)
1. Action from Executive Session. There was not an Executive Session.
2. Consideration and possible action on the Minutes of the regular Zoning Board of
Adjustment meeting of the April 18, 2006.
Motion by Watson to approve the minutes. Second by Snell. Approved 5-0.
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, April 18, 2006 Page 2 of 3
3. Public hearing to Consider a Variance to Section 7.03.040(A) of the Unified Development
Code (UDC) to allow an attached garage on a residential property to encroach 8 feet into
the side setback for a 0.12 acre part of Lost Addition, Block 64, located at 211 West 11th
Street.
Rebecca Rowe presented the staff report. The property is currently developed with a two-
story single family residential structure. the owner is proposing to construct a garage to be
attached to the residence. Due to the size of the lot and the location of the house on the lot,
the only feasible location for the new garage is 11.66 feet behind the property line.
Including the 17.5 feet of right-of-way adjacent to the property, the proposed garage would
be located roughly 29 feet from the street. The applicant was available for questions.
Chair Moore opened the Public Hearing. There were no comments from citizens. The
Public Hearing was closed.
Motion by Snell to approve the variance to Section 7.03.040 (A) of the Unified Development
Code (UDC) to allow an attached garage on a residential property to encroach 8 feet into the
side setback for a 0.12 acre part of Lost Addition, Block 64, located at 211 West 11th Street.
Based upon the evidence presented by the applicant(s) (and the other individuals who
offered testimony on this application), I move that the Board find as follows:
(1) There are special circumstances existing on the property on which the application is
made related to size, shape, area, topography, surrounding conditions and location, that
is, the lot is too small to construct a garage that complies with the applicable
requirements; and
(2) The granting of the variance on the specific property will not be detrimental to the
public health, safety, or welfare or injurious to other property in the area, or to the City
in administering this code, that is, there will be room for a car to park without extending
into the street or impeding traffic; and
(3) The conditions creating the need for the variance do not apply generally to other
property in the same area and the same zoning districts, that is, the garage will be
compatible with existing structures in the area; and
(4) The conditions that create the need for the variance are not the result of the applicant's
own actions, that is, the building existing on the property imposes the need for the
variance; and
(5) The granting of the variance would not substantially conflict with the Comprehensive
Plan and the purposes of this code, that is, the proposed garage will be consistent with
other buildings in the area; and
Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes, April 18, 2006 Page 3 of 3
(6) Because of the conditions that create the need for the variance, the application of this
code to the particular piece of property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably
restrict the utilization of the property, that is a suitable garage could not be constructed
on this property without a variance; and
(7) Based upon the foregoing evidence and criteria, I move that the Board approve the
variance to Section 7.03.040(A) of the UDC requested by the applicant for the property
located at 211 West 11th Street.
Second of the motion by Jarvis. Motion was approved 5 – 0.
4. Comments from the Board. There were no comments.
5. Comments from the Director. Bobby Ray stated that the item from the last meeting, to
discuss a sidewalk variance for the Dollar General Store on North Austin Avenue, had
been pulled by the applicant. The applicants will not be requesting this variance, they
are working with Texas Department of Transportation for a solution.
Motion by Watson to adjourn. Moore adjourned the meeting at 6:17 p.m.
__________________________________ _______________________________
Approved, Will Moore, Chair Attest, Earl Watson