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BZA grants setback variance for garage at 1070 Ring Farm Road after board debate
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance reducing the required 75-foot setback to 44.4 feet for a new 30-by-40-foot garage at 1070 Ring Farm Road in Whitestone; board members discussed how a private 22-foot right-of-way encumbers the property and considered ordinance changes for future clarity.
The Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance to allow construction of a 30-by-40-foot garage at 1070 Ring Farm Road in Whitestone by reducing the right-of-way setback requirement from 75 feet to 44.4 feet.
County planning staff described the owners’ request as a variance from Article 5-3 (setback regulations) of the Lancaster County Land Development Code. The property, tax map 30-432 in District 4, predates both the county zoning ordinance and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Staff said the proposed garage would replace an existing nonconforming storage building, would not increase overall impervious area, and therefore meets the county’s Chesapeake Bay preservation ordinance waiver criteria; however, a variance was required to meet current yard and right-of-way setback regulations.
Several board members raised questions about how a private 22-foot right-of-way used by multiple properties extends across the parcel and effectively encumbers up to about 50 feet of the owners’ property, creating the setback constraint. One board member said the right-of-way was created after the buildings and subdivisions were in place and argued it was inequitable to force property owners to meet a setback measured from a later-created private driveway.
Mary Hagan, one of the property owners, said the project removes an old, divided shed-like structure and replaces it with a functional garage. “We are just trying to, build, in over or remove an existing structure and put a new, more aesthetically pleasing and more functional, dwelling,” Hagan said.
Board members discussed whether to delay the application to consider ordinance amendments addressing private driveways versus state rights-of-way. Some members recommended leaving the ordinance review for a future date but approving the variance now to avoid delaying the owners’ project. After debate the board voted to approve the variance; the motion passed with one board member recorded as opposed.
Staff advised that because the proposed replacement structure will not increase impervious surface within the Chesapeake Bay buffer, the project meets Bay Act waiver criteria but must follow county permitting and any necessary inspections.
