Dorchester County BZA approves variance V25-13 to allow front and rear setback encroachments on nonconforming lot

The Dorchester County Board of Zoning Appeals approved variance V25-13 on Sept. 24 to allow a property owner in the Agricultural-Residential (AR) district to encroach an additional 5 feet into the front yard and 10 feet into the rear yard setbacks on an existing legal nonconforming lot.

Staff told the board the lot is narrow and triangular because of a prior variance the board granted on Aug. 24, 2022, that allowed subdivision of the parcel into less-than-one-acre lots and left the parcel in its current configuration. Administrator staff said the existing manufactured home on the parcel "is no longer readily available," and the applicant cannot meet the ordinance requirement to place a replacement on the same footprint, so the applicant is seeking a reduced setback instead.

Staff presented its findings to the board and recommended approval. The staff recommendation said the parcel’s prior variance created extraordinary and exceptional conditions; those conditions are similar to other nearby properties but the parcel’s shape makes compliance unusually difficult; the owner could develop within the existing footprint or build a stick-built home there but has not done so; and allowing the requested variance would not appear to harm adjacent properties because it reduces the front-yard encroachment while only slightly changing the rear. "Based on the facts presented in this analysis, staff finds that the application does meet the requirements for a variance and therefore recommends approval of the request," the Administrator said.

Board members moved and seconded to approve the application based on staff findings. The board voted by voice; the motion carried unanimously and the variance was approved.

The approval permits the specific encroachments described in the applicant’s site plan and is based on staff’s analysis and the prior 08/24/2022 variance that established the lot’s nonconforming status. The board did not record additional conditions or modifications to the staff recommendation during the meeting.

Clarifying details recorded in the meeting record include the prior variance date (08/24/2022), the requested encroachments (additional 5 feet front, 10 feet rear), and staff’s conclusion that the existing manufactured home referenced by the applicant is "no longer readily available." The board did not discuss alternate remedies such as denial or full relocation of a replacement structure during the public portions of the hearing.

The item concluded without public opposition recorded on the transcript.