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Zoning board denies variance request to let woman keep her mother in a camper on city lot
Summary
The Zoning Board of Adjustments denied a variance sought by Victoria Evans to allow her mother to live in a recreational vehicle at 11 High Ridge Circle, finding the use is not permitted in the SFR‑1 district and that a variance requires a property‑specific hardship.
Victoria Evans asked the City of Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustments on Nov. 24 for a variance to allow a recreational vehicle to be used as a dwelling at 11 High Ridge Circle after code enforcement contacted her. Evans said her mother has lived in the camper since March, is awaiting Social Security benefits and has a serious mental‑health condition; Evans described limited alternatives and pleaded for more time to find housing or sell the property.
Evans told the board she had connected the camper to water and that it lacked a connected sewage line; she said her mother would use the house’s restroom when necessary. “My mother… is homeless, and I can't have that,” Evans said as she described attempts to get state documents and benefit payments.
City staff and board members noted that the zoning code does not permit recreational vehicles as a permanent residence in an SFR‑1 district and that variance standards require hardships tied to the property rather than the resident’s personal situation. Board members discussed a possible continuance to give Evans time to seek resources through code enforcement; a motion to continue the case was voted on and failed. After deliberation, the board voted to deny the variance request. Members emphasized that code enforcement would work with Evans around holiday scheduling and that staff would provide resource referrals, but they said the board could not grant a permanent use not allowed in the zoning district.
Why it matters: Denying the variance leaves Evans reliant on code‑enforcement timelines and outside assistance; the board signaled willingness to help identify options but held to the letter of zoning law.
