Board of Adjustment approves variance for Resco to build 45-foot maintenance facility

The Summit County Board of Adjustment on Aug. 22 unanimously approved a variance allowing Resco Company to construct a 45-foot maintenance and assembly building with reduced side and rear setbacks to accommodate large cranes and truck circulation.

Planning staff presented the application and recommended approval after concluding the request met the five variance criteria. Planning staff (Amir) told the board the site sits in a light-industrial zone near Hoytsville and that lot constraints make it impossible to meet the code’s 50-foot side/rear setback if the 45-foot height is applied. The staff report and presentation recommended conditions and findings of fact to support the variance.

Don Sargent, representing Resco Company, told the board the taller building is required to assemble large aggregate-processing equipment and to avoid repeated closures of Hoytsville Road when 20-foot-long semis and conveyors are maneuvered for assembly. "The height is necessary because it takes cranes on these large assembly equipment and has to be moved around because of how it's assembled," Sargent said. Robert Wadman, Resco’s general manager, described recent growth and said the shop had tripled in size in recent years, and that some assembly currently takes place outdoors during winter.

Board members asked detailed questions about parking, truck circulation and emergency access. The applicant said employee parking will shift to an adjacent north parcel owned by the same company to allow semis to back into bays without blocking the road; staff confirmed the plan shows a 35-foot setback from South Hoytsville Road and explained the red line in the presentation denotes the 50-foot rear setback the variance would modify. On fire access, the applicant said three sides of the building will be accessible and that the North Summit Fire District will review the building permit to ensure compliance with the International Fire Code.

After discussion, board member Spencer moved to approve Resco’s requested variance to reduce required side and rear setbacks from 50 feet to 12 feet and to adopt the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and the conditions in the staff report; planning staff (Amir) seconded the motion. The chair announced the motion passed unanimously. The transcript records vocal affirmations and the chair's declaration of a unanimous vote; it does not provide a complete roll-call tally of individual votes.

The applicant thanked staff and the board following the vote. The board then approved several sets of prior minutes by voice vote and adjourned. The variance approval is subject to the findings and conditions laid out in the staff report and to normal building-permit review, including review by the North Summit Fire District.