Board declines fee waiver for Morton Street lot‑coverage case; vote falls short of required supermajority

The Board of Adjustment on April 15 narrowly failed to grant a fee waiver for a lot‑coverage variance application at 7807 Morton Street (BDA245‑052_FFW1).

Chairman David Newman moved to waive the $600 filing fee for the owner represented by SNS Outdoors; Andrew Finney seconded. The motion drew Aye votes from Kathleen Davis, Andrew Finney and David Newman and opposition from Michael Hopkowitz and Jay Neri. Because fee waivers in this category require an affirmative vote of 75% of members (four of five), the 3–2 result failed to carry the request.

Applicant representative Kyle Wojtowicz testified that the property’s owner had been issued a permit the contractor later learned conflicted with new neighborhood lot‑coverage rules, and the contractor said financial strain made the $600 filing burden significant. Board members asked whether the applicant was the property owner or acting as an agent; staff confirmed the owner is Clark Plaszkoff and SNS Outdoors represented him with a notarized authorization.

Board members divided on whether the circumstances satisfied the code’s threshold that payment of the fee would cause “substantial financial hardship” to the applicant. Hopkowitz said he did not see demonstrated hardship; Newman and Finney argued the fee should be waived because the situation stemmed from a permitting error by the city. The applicant was advised that a denial of the fee waiver on a 3–2 vote does not bar a later filing for a fee waiver or a subsequent request for reimbursement.