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Committee recommended variance on cross‑access requirement where steep grades and ditch prevent connection
Summary
Ozark Civil Engineering sought relief from cross‑access requirements on a commercial site due to steep grades and a ditch; planning staff recommended approval and the committee proceeded with a variance request.
Ozark Civil Engineering, through representative Todd Butler, told the planning committee the site cannot reasonably provide the code-required cross access to the east and south because the parcel contains a steep grade (about 35 feet of fall) and an existing drainage ditch that complicates a connection.
Butler said the west side of the parcel has a shared drive and that a connection to the east or south would be difficult for truck access. Planning staff (identified in the transcript as Daryl) told the committee the city’s variance process exists for such practical hardships and recommended granting the variance.
A motion to approve the variance was made and seconded; the transcript records the motion, and planning staff advised the hardship and recommended approval. The explicit roll-call vote counts were not recorded in the portion of the transcript provided. The committee discussion focused on the physical constraints — steep slope, grading challenges and an existing ditch — and on the fact that the west-side connection already provides driveway access.
The committee’s recorded recommendation enables the applicant to proceed without providing the east/south cross access shown on the site plan, subject to any conditions the city places on the variance as part of its standard permitting and site-plan review processes.
