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State change to variance test could ease separation rules; council told staff will update code
Summary
Staff told the council a new state law replaces the high 'no economic return' variance standard with a lower 'practical difficulties' test for numerical limitations, which could make it easier for the Board of Adjustment to grant exceptions to separation and setback rules.
City legal staff told the City Council a recently passed state legislative change alters the standard for zoning variances that involve numerical limitations — such as separation distances, setbacks, lot and building sizes — and described how the change may affect local decisions.
"The change that the state passed this most recent session ... changes the standard under which a variance can be granted," Gary Guidelock, assistant city attorney, told the council. Under the prior test, property owners had to show the zoning left "no possibility of any economic return" — a high bar that…
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