Tazewell County zoning board approves special use and three variances for dwelling sites, accessory structures and parcel split

The Tazewell County Zoning Board on an evening hearing approved a special use to create a new dwelling site in an A-1 Agricultural Preservation District and granted three variances involving accessory structures and parcel frontage.

Attorney Mark Rossi presented the first petition, saying the petitioners, Matthew and Leanne White, intend “to build a single-family, two-story residence on the tract,” a wooded, roughly 7.268-acre site accessed off Center Road. The board’s Tri-County planner recommended approval and the board approved the findings of fact and the special use by recorded vote.

Why it matters: the approvals allow one new dwelling to be sited in a predominantly timbered back corner of a farm parcel without further removing active farmland, but will create a flag lot the board noted can slow emergency access. The other approvals clear property owners to expand or place accessory buildings that exceed standard size or frontage limits under county zoning rules.

The board then approved three variances:

- A 640-square-foot addition to an existing accessory building for Sean and Shauna McInnis (case 2506B), increasing the structure on the property to 2,480 square feet. The petitioner testified the space is for personal storage and “it’s all personal,” and the health department asked that closed-loop geothermal wells on the site be physically mapped before construction to prevent impacts.

- A frontage variance (case 2507B) for a proposed agricultural division of a parcel currently crossed by 10 Mile Creek. Michael Cochran, the surveyor on the petition, said the request reduces required road frontage from 200 feet to 30 feet to preserve existing farm access and avoid taking productive ground; the board approved the variance so the back parcel can use the existing crossing and natural creek/drainage boundaries.

- A variance for Jeffrey S. Dixon (case 2508B) to allow a detached accessory building that would bring the total accessory area on his lot to 3,106 square feet (14 square feet over the limit) and up to 25 feet in height (5 feet over the limit). Dixon said he plans the building for vehicle and equipment storage and to install a car lift he inherited; when asked whether the building would be used commercially he said, “Absolutely not. It’s for my own use.” The board approved the findings and granted the variance.

Votes at a glance: the board moved and seconded findings and motions for each case and recorded affirmative votes from the voting members present (recorded as Coopy, Laxley, Vaughn, Miller and Chairman Dwayne Lesson on the roll calls in the transcript) for each approval.

Additional context and conditions: staff and outside agencies supplied routine comments — the health department noted septic or septic-permit requirements where water or dwelling use was discussed; Tazewell County Soil and Water recommended approval for the White special use; the Tazewell County Farm Bureau and Highway Department registered no objection on several matters. For the McInnis variance the county required mapping of closed-loop wells before construction to ensure they will not be impacted.

The public hearing portion included sworn testimony from petitioners and their representatives and concluded with the board moving directly into deliberations; the zoning board (class B cases) acted as the final decision-maker for these items at the meeting.

Looking ahead: the approvals allow the petitioners to proceed with permit applications and required site work (septic/well permits where noted, and mapping of geothermal wells or other physical constraints). No additional county board or municipal approvals were listed in the record for these specific class B items.