BZA approves easement variance to unlock landlocked parcel on Cameron Road

The Clay County Board of Zoning Adjustment voted to grant a variance that will allow a 60-foot shared ingress/egress easement to provide access to a landlocked parcel in the West Springs/Cameron Road area.

Property owner Charla Lee told the board the variance is intended to “unlock our property” and remove a red flag placed on the parcel because of prior subdivision paperwork. Lee said the intent is to reconfigure lot lines so that a pond sits entirely on one parcel and to provide legal access to the rear parcel; she said she has no immediate plan to develop the back parcel for housing.

Staff described the site as a combination of two platted small lots (about 3 acres each) and a larger roughly 14-acre unplatted parcel; together the three parcels slightly exceed 20 acres. The unplatted rear parcel lacks a recorded access and is the remnant of a second phase of the West Springs subdivision that was never developed. Staff said the variance under the same code provision discussed earlier would allow an access easement to serve a parcel less than 20 acres where otherwise the code requires a 20-acre minimum; staff noted the applicants provided an application and site plan and that 33 notices were mailed.

Neighbors who spoke largely supported the applicants. Cassandra Bond, an owner of a parcel the easement would cross, testified she was “in approval with the plan.” Applicant Lee said she had been unaware of the county flag until 2022 when she attempted to transfer property to her daughter and learned the back parcel had no recorded access.

During board discussion commissioners noted the legal history — a developer at one time created unplatted legal descriptions rather than a recorded plat — and discussed enforcement history that left the parcel flagged. Commissioner Lawson moved to approve the variance; the motion was seconded and carried on roll call votes recorded in the minutes with Joanne Lawson, John Carpenter and Scott Wagner voting in favor. The board’s approval allows the applicant to record a 60-foot wide easement and move forward to planning and zoning for any future development steps; staff reminded the public that additional conditions such as maintenance agreements and planning review would be addressed if and when a planning application is filed.