Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Height Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board grants 32‑foot height variance for new Little residence to match shop and grade
Summary
The Board approved a variance to increase maximum building height to 32 feet above natural grade for a redevelopment that includes a masonry shop and new house; staff said increased height resulted from imported fill while the owner cited design and site constraints.
The Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing a single‑family house to reach 32 feet above natural grade — 2 feet above the RU‑43 30‑foot standard — so an owner‑builder can construct a masonry residence that coordinates with an existing shop on the lot.
Staff told the board the lot is generally flat and that the planned increase in height is driven by the applicant importing earthen fill to level the building pad; staff said that self‑created conditions are typically not grounds for a variance and suggested alternatives such as lowering rooftop parapets. The applicant, Lance Little, said the shop exists on site, the house pad must be leveled for architectural reasons and the designs had been developed over several years; he said correcting the drawings or redoing the masonry details would be impractical.
Little described the project as an owner‑builder masonry home intended to match the existing shop and noted the finished house elevation will be lower than the existing shop’s roofline. Board members discussed measurement conventions — the county measures height from natural grade in subdivisions — and confirmed parapets and architectural screening are not automatically exempt from the 30‑foot limit. After discussion Member Clapp moved to approve the variance and Member Ward seconded; the board voted 3–0 to allow a maximum permitted height of 32 feet for this lot, subject to the staff conditions included in the report.
The approval authorizes the applicant to proceed with the masonry home design as drawn while preserving county review authority through permits and inspections.
