Columbia Board of Adjustment rejects setback variances for Meadowvale Lot 16; cottage-lot request withdrawn

The Columbia Board of Adjustment voted 4–1 on April 8 to deny a request for variances to the front, corner-side and rear yard setbacks for Lot 16 of the Meadowvale Subdivision, a lot addressed as 2111–2113 Carroll Drive. After the vote, the applicant withdrew a second, related request to apply the city's optional cottage-lot dimensional standards to a new middle lot the applicant proposed to create.

Board action matters because the variances were required before the city's planning process could consider a replat and the use of smaller cottage-lot standards; staff told the board that without the variances a replat to create the smaller middle lot could not move forward.

Applicant representatives said the request was intended to allow infill development and add one small, lower-cost home between two existing duplexes. Kevin Schweikert of Brush and Associates, the project's engineer, told the board, "we are seeking to do a subdivision plat to create 3 lots out of 2 lots" and said the middle lot would be a "3 bedroom small affordable home." He estimated the construction cost at about "$225,000" and said a sale price would…