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Madison County board grants setback variance for Schwab property to allow single-story home
Summary
The Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance reducing the required setback from 100 feet to 50 feet for a 4.398-acre, grandfathered parcel so applicants Robert K. Schwab Jr. and Edith L. Schwab can build a single-story residence; the board noted existing site constraints including power lines, septic placement and steep slope.
Madison County’s Board of Zoning Appeals on the evening of the meeting approved a variance allowing Robert K. Schwab Jr. and Edith L. Schwab to locate a new single-story residence 50 feet from the roadway where the county ordinance requires 100 feet.
The board approved the variance after the applicants described site constraints and said the parcel is a nonconforming, grandfathered lot of about 4.398 acres. The applicants told the board the house will be single-story and that septic approval for the proposed drainfield is already in the application packet.
The variance matters because the parcel, identified in staff materials as Madison County Tax Map 30 8-20 F and zoned C1 (conservation), does not meet the county’s current acreage standard for conservation zoning. County staff and the applicants said the lot is grandfathered and therefore not subject to the 10-acre minimum implemented after the original plat. Applicants said a power line and the curvature of the front of the property restrict where the house can be placed and that the rear of the lot slopes steeply toward the existing drainfield.
In discussion, members asked about the setback line and whether a smaller reduction would suffice; the applicants said they consulted the surveyor, David Lewis, and chose a 50-foot setback to leave room for a possible future garage. A neighbor, Mr. Dunwoody, contacted county staff in support of the application, staff said.
The chair called for a motion; a board member moved to grant the variance and the motion was seconded by Saint Kyle. The chair then asked members to raise their hands in favor and stated the motion carried unanimously among voting members present. The minutes correction noted earlier in the meeting (that a prior vote recorded as “nay” should be recorded as “aye”) was corrected before the Schwab case was heard.
The board did not attach conditions beyond standard filing requirements; staff noted the Health Department comments were added to the packet the afternoon of the meeting. The applicants said they plan to relocate from North Carolina and to use the lot as their permanent residence.
The board had no other business on the case and adjourned later in the meeting.
