Fairhope Board of Adjustment tables setback variance for 11 Greenbrier Lane, requests geotechnical study

The Fairhope Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to table a request for a 15-foot front-yard setback variance at 11 Greenbrier Lane to give the applicant time to provide a topographic survey and a geotechnical engineer's recommendation on safe building distance from a gully.

Planning staff told the board that the R-1 lot is about 0.38 acres and is subject to a 40-foot front-yard setback under the city's zoning ordinance; the applicant, Karen Rice, is seeking a 15-foot variance that would produce a 25-foot front setback. Staff noted topographical constraints — a 15-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep gully and recorded drainage easements — and recommended denying BOA26O1 because the lot is buildable without a variance, though it acknowledged exceptional site conditions.

"Staff does…