Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bluff Setback Variance Accessibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
PCBOA approves modified Ryan Family variance for handicap ramp that encroaches into bluff setback
Summary
The Hubbard County Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment approved a revised variance for the Ryan Family Limited Partnership to install a handicap ramp and small landing that encroach 9 feet into the 30-foot bluff setback but remain outside the 100-foot ordinary high water setback, after the applicant amended the design to reduce bluff impacts.
The Hubbard County Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment unanimously approved variance 15-V-25 for the Ryan Family Limited Partnership, allowing a lakeward ramp and small landing to intrude into the 30-foot bluff setback to provide handicap access from a deck to lakeside flagstone on Big Sand Lake.
The board approved an amended proposal that reduces bluff impact compared with the original submittal: the proposal as presented encroaches approximately nine feet into the 30-foot bluff setback for a four-foot-wide, accessible ramp and includes a 4-by-8-foot landing within the bluff impact zone. Staff said the ramp otherwise meets the county's 100-foot ordinary high watermark setback measurement.
Roger Peterson, the contractor representing Nancy Ryan, described the revised ramp layout: a ramp run of roughly 15 feet with a 1'.5-foot drop from deck level to a lower grade, a 4-foot-wide ramp tread, space to turn a wheelchair with an 8-by-4-foot platform, and a small area of flagstone at the lakeward end. Peterson said the design needed to move parallel to the bluff and use a switchback to achieve the 7.5-foot elevation change required by handicap-access standards.
Board members noted they had visited the property and reviewed the amended drawing. Veronica said she walked the route with Nancy Ryan and found the revised alignment more reasonable than the original plan. Eric (Environmental Services staff) noted the application on file had been amended and that the revised drawing superseded the original plan on the screen; he also said the ramp would require minimal grading and the letter accompanying the staff report indicated at least one cubic yard of material movement.
No public comment was offered. Members discussed the five variance criteria and found the request met them: the ramp provides reasonable use that was not practical under current controls because of the house and topography, the encroachment is limited in area and expected to have minimal impact on bluff stability and the lake, and the amended design reduced encroachment compared with the original submission. Tim moved to approve the amended application and Veronica seconded. Tim, Ken, Veronica and Larry voted yes; the motion passed. Environmental Services will issue a decision letter with required findings and any conditions.
The approval specifically applies to the amended plan presented at the meeting, including the 4-by-8 landing in the bluff impact zone; any future modifications will require additional review or a new variance.
