Resident seeks variance for carport; commission outlines setback and outbuilding rules

A Fielding resident asked the Planning Commission whether a proposed 24-by-20 carport would require a building permit and whether it could be sited within the town’s 35-foot front setback.

Commission staff and members told the resident that a structure of the size described will require a building permit and that situating the carport at about 31 feet from the road would put it inside the front setback and therefore would require the applicant to seek a variance and be placed on a future agenda. “So it will end up being 4 or 5 feet closer to the road,” the resident said; commission members confirmed the 35-foot front setback and explained the variance process and agenda scheduling.

The commission also clarified rules for outbuildings and the “drip edge.” A member explained the town ordinance requires that snow or runoff from roofs land on the property owner’s lot (the ordinance language was referenced but not cited by number). For non-street sides, commissioners said outbuildings can be as close as 1 foot from the property line; the main building, by contrast, has a larger setback requirement (discussed as 15 feet in the meeting). The commission advised that the applicant’s drip edge must fall on the applicant’s property: “if snow was coming off, it has to be landing on your property. It can't be landing on your neighbor's property.”

Next steps: Commissioners advised the resident they would put the variance/request on the next meeting agenda so the applicant can submit formal plans and that a special meeting could be called only in urgent circumstances. The resident was told to expect to obtain a formal survey/plan and to return with the item on the next agenda.

No formal vote was recorded on the setback questions; the items were procedural and resulted in scheduling the resident for a future agenda.