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Board of Adjustment OKs variance for Ellens family dwelling addition near feedlot
Summary
The Houston County Board of Adjustment granted a variance allowing the Ellens Family Living Trust to add a garage and replace a kitchen on a parcel that lies inside an existing feedlot setback. Staff recommended and the board approved a 290-foot variance to meet the county’s 1,320-foot feedlot setback requirement.
The Houston County Board of Adjustment voted to grant a variance requested by the Ellens Family Living Trust that will allow a dwelling addition and a 3-car garage closer to an existing feedlot than county rules ordinarily permit.
Staff told the board the property (Parcel 30098000 in Caledonia Township) contains an existing 19th-century dwelling and lies within the feedlot setback. "The existing building site and infrastructure on this parcel lies within the feedlot setback, and it is reasonable to update an existing structure," staff said during the hearing. Board staff recommended a 290-foot variance to meet the required 1,320-foot setback for the requested addition.
Applicant Dave Ellens told the board he and his wife purchased the property earlier in the year and said moving the house was infeasible because of waterways and site constraints. "There's really not another location for us to move the house," Ellens said, describing the project as replacing a kitchen and adding a garage to an existing homestead.
The board reviewed the six required findings for an area variance, including harmony with official controls and that practical difficulties exist. Each finding received affirmative responses in the board’s roll-call discussion. A motion to grant the requested variance passed on a roll-call vote with all members recorded as voting Aye.
The approval allows the Ellens Family Living Trust to proceed with the proposed addition under the terms discussed by staff; any future feedlot expansions or new septic work would be subject to applicable rules and permitting. The board closed the item and moved on to subsequent applications.
