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Hearing examiner finds record sufficient to recommend setback variances for Hayden Lake lot
Summary
A Kootenai County hearing examiner closed the record on variance request VA25-000019 for a steep, waterfront lot on Lower Hayden Lake Road and said he will forward a recommendation to county staff within two weeks after staff found steep slopes and limited developable area justify reduced setbacks.
Hearing Examiner Carl Grandth closed the record Tuesday on a request for setback variances on a steep, waterfront lot off Lower Hayden Lake Road and said he will file a recommendation with county staff within two weeks for consideration by the county commissioners.
For the record, Vlad Finkele of Kootenai County Community Development described case VA25-000019 as an application by Charles and Cara McNal seeking variances to the restricted residential zone’s side-yard and rear-yard setbacks. Finkele said the property is bisected by Lower Hayden Lake Road, is very steep and irregularly shaped, and that the applicants are requesting a reduction that would leave the proposed residence 11 feet from the prescriptive 50-foot right-of-way line and 8 feet from the southern property line.
"We clearly see that there's a need to grant a variance in this case because of the steepness of the property as well as limited space for development and the regular shape of the site," Finkele said, summarizing the staff analysis and noting an engineer of record found the site suitable for development provided recommended geotechnical conditions are followed.
Finkele told the hearing that agency review returned no objections that would prevent a variance, but that the usual approvals remain required: a building permit, connection to the Hayden Lake Shore District, and an approach permit from the highway district. He also said staff received one public comment opposing the request on sight-distance grounds.
The examiner and staff pushed back on that sight-distance concern, saying the steep topography produces a substantial elevation change above the road. "The bottom level of the house is going to be roughly 20 feet above the road," applicant Charlie Vnali said, arguing that visual impact and sight-line risk from the road will be limited. Vnali also said a recent lot-line adjustment reduced the south setback by about six inches from earlier survey measurements, which contributed to the requested variance.
Ben Tarbut, planning manager, told the hearing an overlay district to address frequent variances in the area is under development and will be presented to the planning commission in the future.
Finkele concluded that the applicants had demonstrated undue hardship tied to steep slopes and limited developable area and that the highway district had not recommended denial for safety reasons. Following questions and brief applicant testimony, Grandth said he had enough information to prepare his recommendation and officially closed the hearing record for VA25-000019.
The county commissioners will receive the examiner’s recommendation in a subsequent agenda item; no final decision was made at the hearing.
