Board of Adjustment approves 5.7‑foot variance for Tiny Homes lot after staff seeks PD fix

The City of Newberry Board of Adjustment on a unanimous voice vote adopted Resolution 2025‑50, granting a variance that reduces the required 10‑foot rear‑yard setback to 4.3 feet for Lot 339 in Phase 7 of the Tiny Homes Newberry Town Center plan development.

Stacy Hectis of the Community Development Department told the board that the Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval and that the parcel (02544‑070‑339) is 0.02 acres. Hectis said the applicant, Tiny Home Newberry LLC, requested the reduced setback after a house design did not fit the originally approved PD layout; the request produces a 5.7‑foot variance from the 10‑foot requirement. Planning staff told the board that an amendment to the PD and a revised plat covering Lots 331–365 will be required so the developer will not need repeated variance requests.

City attorney (reading the resolution title) opened the matter as a quasi‑judicial hearing and explained that testimony would be taken under oath and evidence must be entered into the record. The attorney also cautioned the board that variances are ordinarily not appropriate to excuse developer errors, saying the city does not accept responsibility for catching developer mistakes and that routinely granting variances for construction or PD plan problems would be improper.

Commissioners asked whether the encroachment resulted from the house design or the pad size; staff and the applicant said the house was slightly too large for the originally approved pad layout. The applicant representative said the original plan moved parking and adjusted lot configurations, and that the larger unit was chosen to meet design goals. The applicant also confirmed there will be a fence between the house and the retention pond and described roughly 4–4.6 feet between the house and the fence in the affected lot.

A motion to adopt Resolution 2025‑50 with the discussed conditions — including the applicant filing a PD amendment to correct the underlying plan discrepancy — was made and adopted by voice vote with all present commissioners answering “aye.” The minutes and public record show the resolution passed unanimously; individual named vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript.

The board and staff emphasized a procedural point: whether the commission wants to grant administrative authority to staff for future, similar matters or retain those decisions before the board. The attorney and staff advised the board that, as currently configured, staff does not have authority to bypass the commission’s rules and that any change to delegation should be made explicitly by the commission.

At the meeting’s conclusion the city manager announced a Veterans Day ceremony at the City’s Veterans Memorial on Nov. 11 at 9 a.m., hosted by the Bayors Youth Council. The board adjourned after that brief announcement.

What happens next: the applicant is expected to file a PD amendment and revised plat for Lots 331–365; staff said that amendment would address the layout issues that produced the current variance request.