Applicant seeks 2.9% impervious-area variance for private pool; council to consider code changes for pools and administrative variances

Planner Mr. Kron presented an application from Andrew Cain for a variance at 1622 Middlefield Court to exceed the RSF-3 district impervious-area limit of 45%. Mr. Kron summarized the proposal: demolition of a 476-square-foot wood deck, construction of a 512-square-foot pool, installation of concrete pavers around the pool and additional concrete for a patio cover. He gave the post-project impervious total as 4,506 square feet on a 9,398-square-foot lot, resulting in an impervious percentage of about 47.9 percent—2.9 percentage points over the code limit. Mr. Kron said the Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3–0 on Feb. 11 to recommend approval of the variance.

Andrew Cain, the applicant, described plans to direct runoff into an existing catch basin on the southeast end of the property using 4-inch corrugated pipe and additional troughs; he told council he believed runoff would not be an issue. A council member raised two separate issues at length: (1) whether swimming pools should be counted as impervious surface in the zoning code (the council member argued pools accept water and therefore should not be treated the same as hard impervious surfaces), and (2) whether minor overages such as 2.9 percent should be eligible for administrative approval by staff rather than requiring a multi-month variance process. Planner Mr. Kron and other council members agreed to research both items and bring back recommended code language or options.

No final council action was taken during the study session. The applicant was present and the planner said staff will return with options, including potential text amendments and criteria for administrative variances for residential properties.

Provenance: Topic introduced at SEG 426 and extensively discussed through SEG 637.