Weber County board grants small variance to allow Gillespie lot to be split into two building parcels

The Weber County Board of Adjustment on March 13 approved a variance (BOA-2025-01) allowing Lot 2 of the Gillespie Subdivision at 5688 East 2300 North, Eden, to be subdivided into two building lots. The board’s motion grants a variance of 5,830 square feet to the AV-3 zone lot-area requirement so the owner can divide the 5.866-acre parcel into two parcels that would each meet the county’s three-acre lot minimum for building.

The variance matters because it would let the property owner, Michael Gillespie, convert an agricultural parcel into two buildable lots if and when he elects to pursue subdivision and development. County staff and board members discussed how past road dedications on the parcel reduced the acreage available for development and emphasized that easements do not reduce lot area but dedications recorded at subdivision do.

Planning staff presented the application and maps showing the parcel, existing accessory structures and the recorded dedication along public roads. Staff described the AV-3 site-development standard of 3 acres per lot and summarized the five legal criteria the board must find to grant a variance, including that the hardship is not self-imposed or purely economic and that the variance will not conflict with the general plan or public interest.

Applicant Michael Gillespie told the board he is not proposing immediate development. He said he sought the variance to preserve future options — for a child to build, to sell, or to use the property as collateral — and explained that after a 2005 subdivision and subsequent road dedications the lot fell about 0.07 acres short of the 6 acres needed to split into two three-acre lots. Gillespie said he also owns a small adjacent parcel (about 0.113 acres) that, if combined with Lot 2, would bring the total nearer to the required acreage.

Board members questioned whether the shortfall constituted an “unreasonable hardship” under the code and discussed whether the circumstance was self-imposed. Staff explained the difference between easements and dedications: easements do not deduct from lot area, while right-of-way dedications at subdivision do reduce the acreage available for building. Staff also warned the applicant that a granted variance is valid for 18 months and that the parcel is due to become part of a newly formed municipality later in the year, which could change development rules.

After discussion, a board member moved to approve BOA-2025-01 with the numeric variance identified in the staff report (5,830 square feet) for Lot 2 of the Gillespie Subdivision, parcel number 222570002. Another member seconded the motion. The board voted to approve the variance; members present voted aye and the motion carried. The board’s approval authorizes the variance as described but does not itself subdivide the land; the applicant must complete any subdivision process and other required approvals to create two separate buildable parcels.

The board and staff noted limitations and next steps: the variance expires in 18 months if not acted on; subdivision approval and any required road dedications or platting remain separate processes; and if the property transfers into the new municipality it may become subject to different lot-area rules in the future.

Michael Gillespie asked staff about next steps following approval; staff advised him on the timing and that additional applications and fees would be required to vest building rights through subdivision and platting.

The board adjourned after the vote.