Planning commission recommends denial of variance to place pool 25 feet inside shoreland setback at 6580 Astor Trail

The City of Victoria Planning Commission voted to recommend denial to the City Council of a variance request that would allow a private pool and patio to extend 25 feet inside the shoreland 100-foot setback at 6580 Astor Trail.

Associate planner Travis Verley told the commission staff recommended denial because the application failed to meet the statutory practical-difficulty criteria required for shoreland variances. Verley said the city and the state DNR treat the 100-foot line as the policy baseline and that practical-difficulty findings require evidence of unique physical circumstances that prevent reasonable use of the property without a variance.

The applicants — identified in the record as Jamie (applicant) and John (Jamie’s husband) — told the commission the lot’s shape, house location and slope constraints left no feasible location for a pool that would meet their stated program and scale. Jamie said the owners learned in September that the proposed pool location fell inside the setback and argued the pool would reduce human activity at the shoreline. “The point of the hundred foot setback is to protect the shoreline,” Jamie said. “We would argue that a pool actually aids in the goal, keeping human activity away from the shoreline.” The applicants said they plan native-vegetation restoration along the bank and stormwater controls, and proposed an 18-by-36-foot pool with surrounding permeable patio surfaces.

A neighbor, Eric Summer of 6600 Astor Trail, spoke in favor of the variance and told the commission the proposed pool location is consistent with nearby properties that have pools facing the lake. “I completely support the applicant’s application,” Summer said.

Verley summarized technical constraints staff considered: one alternate pool site on the south side has steep slopes that would require tall retaining walls; another would require removal of established trees and vegetation; and the site the applicants proposed is flat but inside the 100-foot shoreland setback. Staff noted earlier local examples of variances and mitigation requirements, including a 2023 case on Astor Trail where the DNR required a 30-foot drainage and utility easement and a separate case addressing impervious-cover mitigation.

Commission discussion focused on the legal standard for practical difficulty, the lot’s recorded dimensions and whether the home had been sited knowingly within the setback at the time it was built. Commissioners pressed the applicants on whether a smaller pool or a different location could meet their needs; applicants said alternatives would produce a much smaller or shallow pool and would likely require substantial grading or be shaded and less usable.

After public comment and discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend denial to the City Council of the variance request to permit the pool to encroach 25 feet into the shoreland setback (zoning ordinance section 22-6d). The motion was seconded and carried on voice vote. The minutes record the motion as carried; no roll-call tally was provided in the transcript.

Next steps: the Planning Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for its decision. Staff noted the application was deemed complete earlier in the filing process and that state, watershed and city review remain part of any further consideration. The record also included a staff note that the city follows the DNR ordinary-high-water-mark elevation (recorded in the presentation as 929.83 feet) when measuring the 100-foot setback.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Recommend denial to City Council of variance to zoning ordinance section 22-6d to permit a pool and patio to encroach 25 feet into the shoreland setback at 6580 Astor Trail. - Mover: Commissioner (mover); Second: Commissioner (second). - Outcome: Motion carried (planning commission recommends denial).