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Board approves driveway-slope variance for Firefly Drive lot after builder cites terrain constraints
Summary
The board granted a 4% variance to increase the maximum driveway slope from 10% to up to 14% for a Firefly Drive lot (Application 206350) after the builder, Bill Biles, described terrain constraints and $450,000 in retaining-wall work already completed.
The Loudon City Board of Zoning Appeals approved a driveway-slope variance (Application 206350) that increases the allowable driveway slope from 10% to 14% for a Firefly Drive lot owned by Scott and Betty Winfield.
Bill Biles, president of Biles Construction, told the board that steep lot terrain required extensive site work and that the design team reduced the driveway slope as much as practicable; he said the as-proposed driveway slope measured about 13.44 percent in final surveys and that the contractor had already spent more than $450,000 on concrete retaining walls and site build-up to try to meet the 10% threshold. The application covers work on multiple lots on Firefly Drive that Biles Construction is contracted to build; the builder said he expects to submit driveway-slope details with the initial building permit moving forward.
Staff identified a topographic constraint in the site packet and recommended that the application be considered complete for review. Board members compared the request to precedents elsewhere in East Tennessee, noting that driveway slopes differ from road grades and that some variances have been granted when topography leaves no feasible alternative. The board approved the variance by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
The approval covers the specific lot listed (Tax Map 023NG016.06) and is recorded as a site-specific variance; the board did not attach additional conditions beyond standard administrative recording in the meeting transcript.
