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Commission grants variance to allow final plat filing before certificate of occupancy at 1937 Rothwell Street
Summary
The commission approved a variance allowing the developer to proceed with construction and record a final plat before issuance of a certificate of occupancy for 1937 Rothwell Street after finding the case to be a unique, one-off situation; staff said permits had been issued before the plat was discovered missing.
The Missouri City Planning & Zoning Commission on March 12 approved a variance request for property at 1937 Rothwell Street that allows the owner to record a final plat prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
City staff told the commission that building plans and permits had been submitted and approved but a required subdivision plat for the older neighborhood had never been recorded. Staff placed the permit on hold after discovering the missing plat, and the property owner requested a variance so construction could continue while the plat process proceeds.
The applicant, identified in the record as Mr. Joseph, told the commission his contractor has materials on-site that are exposed to the elements and that material markets are volatile; he said he would like to continue work "so that we don't lose the investment that's been made," while complying with inspections. "We would like to continue just to make sure that we don't lose the investment that's been made," Joseph said.
The city attorney reminded commissioners that the subdivision ordinance requires three findings to grant a variance: (1) special circumstances affecting the property, (2) that enforcement of the subdivision ordinance would deprive the applicant of a substantial property right, and (3) that granting the variance would not be materially detrimental to public welfare or injurious to neighboring properties. The city attorney noted that while financial loss is relevant, in other contexts financial loss alone often does not satisfy the legal standard; the commission may nevertheless weigh the facts of this particular case.
Commissioners discussed that the property is in an older part of the city, that the lot pattern may have originally been defined by metes and bounds rather than a recorded subdivision plat, and that staff has identified procedural steps to reduce similar occurrences in the future. Staff said a survey and other foundation-related checks had been part of the permit process and that the variance request is a corrective step to allow filing of the plat in the real property records.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the variance based on the property owner's statements and the commission's findings. The motion carried; the meeting record shows "motion carries" but does not include a roll-call tally.
Staff told the commission the applicant plans to submit plat materials for the April agenda so the final plat can be recorded once the variance and required submissions are complete. The commission did not attach financial penalties or further conditions in the motion as reflected in the meeting record.
