Armstrongs request side‑yard setback variance to add 540‑sq‑ft addition at 1101 Woodrow Drive

Mickey and Whitney Armstrong requested a variance from Sumner County zoning rules to reduce the required side‑yard setback from 20 feet to 12 feet so they can build an about 540‑square‑foot addition to the primary dwelling at 1101 Woodrow Drive. Planning staff presented the request at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting and opened the matter for public hearing; no final vote was recorded at the meeting.

Planning staff said the property is in the Rural Preservation zoning district, where the side‑yard setback is 20 feet, and described a discrepancy between the recorded plat and a recent survey. "The plat shows 1.27 acres, but when it was surveyed, it seems that there may have been some discrepancy…it is determined that the property is 0.85 acres," Planning staff said. Staff said the smaller surveyed area, and the location of an adjacent hatched flood‑plain area, have shortened the buildable area along the side yard and contribute to the hardship cited for the variance request.

Staff told the board the proposed addition would contain a bedroom, bathroom and closet and would be sited so it "is in line with the existing house" and would not be closer to the neighboring house than the existing structure. Planning staff also said the addition would not increase the property's nonconformity beyond the existing encroachment, and characterized the hardship as not self‑created, noting the subdivision and house date to the 1980s and that some lot lines are affected by later replats and flood‑plain delineation.

Planning staff reviewed the county's variance findings used to evaluate requests: whether a particular lot shape or topography produces a hardship distinct from a mere inconvenience; whether the hardship is unique to the lot and not broadly applicable across the zoning district; whether the variance authorizes only uses permitted by the zone; and whether the variance is the minimum needed to allow reasonable use. Staff said, based on the survey and the flood‑plain boundary, the Armstrong property meets those criteria and that the variance requested appears to be the minimum necessary to permit the proposed addition.

Staff presented example motions for the board: to find the county variance standards are met and approve the setback variance in accordance with the submitted plan for 1101 Woodrow Drive with conditions that all required zoning, building and land‑disturbance permits be obtained and that a plat amendment be recorded to correct the discrepancy; to deny the request; or to defer the item for one month to obtain additional information. The meeting record shows the item was opened for public hearing; the record does not show a board decision on the variance at that session.

The transcript shows the planning presentation emphasized that strict application of the zoning resolution would make it difficult to use the property as proposed and that no evidence was presented at the hearing indicating the variance would impair light, increase congestion, create public‑safety hazards or otherwise harm adjacent property owners. Planning staff also said the financial return to the owner is not a proper basis to grant a variance.

If the board later approves the variance, Planning staff said a plat amendment correcting the lot size discrepancy would need to be recorded and all required permits obtained before construction. The board’s next procedural step was to accept public comment on the matter during the hearing.