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Planning Commission approves subdivision of 844 Riverview Drive; final approval contingent on BZA variances
Summary
The Planning Commission voted to approve a proposal to subdivide and consolidate an easement into parcels at 844 and 888 Riverview Drive, but both lots will require variance relief from the Board of Zoning Appeals before final recordation.
The Planning Commission voted to approve a proposal to subdivide two parcels on Riverview Drive so that an existing easement would become part of an adjacent lot, commissioners said at the meeting.
Staff said the applicant provided a purpose statement and written authorization from the adjoining property owner, and that the new property line would follow an existing easement. “Staff recommends approval with the conditions listed in your packet,” a staff member told the commission.
The proposal would create two parcels from the current configuration: the property identified in the packet as 844 and the neighboring parcel identified as 888. Staff and applicants said the easement through the parcels dates to about 1940 and the applicant seeks to consolidate the easement area into the main property so the owner can market and use the parcel differently.
Under the planning staff report, the parcels as proposed would not meet the jurisdiction’s minimum lot standards for area; both property owners will need variance relief from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to complete the subdivision. Staff told the commission the applications are scheduled for a BZA hearing on Aug. 20 and that each lot would submit its own application for variance relief.
Commissioners voiced concern in discussion about creating two nonconforming parcels where one conforming and one nonconforming parcel currently exist. One commissioner said the project “makes less conforming parcels than we currently have,” and another said, “I would argue that we need to be moving towards more conforming lots, not more non conforming lots.” Several commissioners nevertheless cited the neighbor’s written support and the practical benefits for marketing the properties as reasons to vote for approval.
Commissioners also discussed site details shown in the packet: an existing off-street parking drive that is set down from the street grade, the parcel’s irregular or “flag lot” configuration, and the fact that some adjacent lots on Riverview already do not meet current dimensional standards because the area was developed in the 1920s.
The commission first moved to take the item off the table and then moved to approve the subdivision proposal subject to BZA approval and the conditions listed in staff’s packet. The commission’s approval at the meeting is a recommendation/approval step; final subdivision recordation and the change in lot configuration will depend on the BZA granting the necessary variances and on completion of any required deeds and filings. Staff said they will follow up with the applicant after the meeting.
Background and next steps: staff recorded that the applicant supplied a purpose statement and written authorization from the adjoining property owner, that the easement appears to have been created in 1940, and that the BZA hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20. The commission directed that each lot file its own BZA application for variance relief.
