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Trustees debate shared-driveway rule, defer exceptions to BZA
Summary
Trustees discussed proposed shared-driveway language for lot splits and agreed that exceptions for odd-shaped lots or frontage hardships should be decided by the Board of Zoning Appeals rather than by zoning staff.
Trustees reviewed proposed language for shared-driveway rules during the Oct. 1 zoning meeting and discussed how the rules should apply to odd-shaped parcels and lot splits.
The central question was whether two parcels that share a driveway must each meet the township’s road-frontage requirement (discussed as 200 feet of frontage per parcel in the meeting) or whether exceptions should be permitted for irregularly shaped ‘‘heel-toe’’ lots. Trustees repeatedly said that requests that deviate from the frontage standard should go to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) as a hardship request rather than be handled as an administrative exception.
Trustees and staff noted that proposed lot splits will come before the zoning board first, and if the split creates a nonconforming frontage situation the applicant can seek relief from the BZA. Several trustees said that, in many cases, an odd-shaped lot without road frontage would not be buildable under existing rules unless the BZA granted a hardship.
Why it matters: the handling of frontage and driveway sharing affects whether owners can subdivide larger parcels and how access will be regulated; directing exceptions to the BZA centralizes case-by-case decisions but does not change the base frontage standard.
The trustees also noted the item will be on the trustees’ agenda for Oct. 15 (a morning meeting date changed because of the Columbus Day holiday) as the proposed language advances through the local process.
