Lake County board approves 10-foot side-setback variance for 168 Meadows Drive

The Lake County Board of Adjustment on Feb. 25 approved a 10-foot variance from the side-yard setback for a proposed single-family home at 168 Meadows Drive in Leadville.

The board granted the variance (file 24-44) after staff and the applicant presented new engineering evidence showing clay-rich soils and a high water table on the lot would require a mounded on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS). The approval includes a condition that the variance expires in three years if a building permit is not issued.

At the public hearing, county staff summarized the request as a variance from a 20-foot side setback shown on the Pine Huron subdivision plat and explained why the applicant argued relief was needed. Staff said engineers from Flat River Group LLC prepared a septic design showing impermeable clay and rock in the soil and a high water table on the parcel, requiring a two-mound soil treatment area. Staff also said the evidence submitted indicated the applicants wished to locate the house to preserve an open meadow and to avoid nearby wetlands, though the wetlands are not on the lot.

An applicant representative told the board the proposed house is modest in size and that the subdivision appears to be unusual in showing a 20-foot side setback despite many lots being smaller than 2.5 acres. The representative said a site visit and review of aerial images suggested many existing houses in the neighborhood do not meet the plat's 20-foot side setback.

Board members asked whether a smaller house could avoid the need for a variance; staff and the applicant's engineer indicated a significantly smaller footprint would still likely require a mounded septic system and thus would not necessarily avoid encroaching on setbacks. The applicants' desired house size was described in the record as about 2,300 square feet.

Several board members said the supplemental septic design and soil information satisfied the development-code criteria for a variance in their view. One board member expressed concern that approving variances in small, older subdivisions could set a precedent as septic and wastewater regulations become more restrictive; others said the decision in this case addressed the particular physical constraints of the lot.

A motion to approve file 24-44 carried; the motion recorded conditions that the variance expire in three years if a building permit is not issued, that statements made in the application during the hearing be treated as conditions of approval (unless they conflict with other conditions), and that the board find the approval criteria in section 3.21.5 of the Lake County Land Development Code had been met as documented in the revised staff report dated Feb. 25, 2025. The board voted in favor and the application was approved.

The record notes the applicant worked with Flat River Group LLC on the septic design and that an engineer named David Wilson was referenced in staff comments about the infeasibility of fitting the proposed house and septic entirely within the plat's side setbacks. Staff also noted the lot is served by a community well system rather than individual wells and that neighboring property owners immediately east and west were contacted; the east neighbor submitted an email stating no objection.

The board closed the hearing and adjourned the meeting.