Board grants fill variance for pool elevation at Old Landing property

The City of Covington Board of Adjustments on July 21 granted a variance allowing limited placement of fill under a proposed pool at a low-lying lot in the Old Landing neighborhood so the pool deck will match the elevation of the planned home.

Property owner Wesley Williams, who gave the site address as 68 Cypress Road, told commissioners the house slab will be raised to reduce flood risk and the architect designed a pool at the same elevation. “We’re building a house there. And the pool is the issue on the... the fill,” Williams said at the hearing.

Staff noted similar past approvals nearby where pools were elevated and the board discussed consistency with prior decisions. Commissioners asked whether the fill would affect neighbors’ drainage; staff responded that water and sewer extensions and drainage impacts are considered and that the limited fill under the pool is consistent with prior practice where the pool is raised but fill is confined to the footprint of the pool.

The board approved the variance on a roll call that recorded Miss Butler yes; Mister Gilley no; Miss Williams yes; Mister Lucas yes; Mister Romage yes. The variance was described in the agenda as relief from the city’s fill-placement and flood-zone regulations in Chapter 18 (sections 18-152, 18-153 and 18-154). The hearing record includes a site visit and staff comment that a similar allowance had been made previously for nearby properties to keep pools from filling with river-borne sand during high water events.

No additional conditions or further mitigation measures were recorded in the hearing. The board’s action permits the applicant to proceed with site work and to seek necessary building permits under the approved variance.