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Board approves 2.7‑foot setback variance after contractor survey error; owner had Piedmont approval
Summary
Pender County approved a 2.7‑ft side‑setback variance for a newly built garage that encroached on a property line and a Piedmont Natural Gas easement; the homeowner said a survey/foundation error by contractors caused the problem and Piedmont granted an encroachment agreement.
The Pender County Board of Adjustments on Nov. 19 granted a variance allowing a recently constructed 1,170‑square‑foot garage to remain 2.7 feet inside the county’s required 10‑foot side setback after a foundation survey revealed the encroachment.
Planner Sean Olds explained the garage was permitted, but a later foundation survey found the contractor relied on incorrect markers and placed footings that encroached into the side setback and a Piedmont Natural Gas easement. Piedmont subsequently issued an encroachment agreement allowing a 2.3‑foot intrusion into the gas easement.
Owner Jolene Johnson described a protracted process to resolve the issue, including long negotiations with Piedmont, and said the neighbor adjacent to the encroachment raised no objection. Board members discussed whether the hardship was self‑created; several members concluded the owner relied on permitted plans and outside contractors, and that the encroachment was not a deliberate attempt to bypass rules.
A motion to approve the 2.7‑foot setback variance passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The board noted that county staff had originally permitted the construction and that, where practical, remediation by the contractor could be sought as a separate civil matter between the owner and contractor.
