Board grants variance for proposed subdivision at former Hillview School, contingent on rezoning; neighbors raise septic and boundary concerns

The Jefferson County Board of Zoning Adjustment voted to grant a variance for case A-260005 — a proposal to plat a residential subdivision on the roughly 6.58-acre former Hillview School site owned by the Board of Education — contingent on the parcel being rezoned to R‑2.

Planning staff said the request would allow lots with a minimum 60-foot width in lieu of the current 65-foot requirement for front-loading garages and would waive the 10% open-space requirement in proposed R‑2 zoning. Staff characterized the variance as minor and compatible with surrounding R‑2 districts and recommended approval.

At the public hearing multiple neighbors spoke in opposition or with questions about impacts to existing septic systems and property boundaries. Angela Jones King of 929 Cagle Road said her septic field lines ‘‘do go onto that property’’ and told the board the county health department has incomplete records prior to 1980. "I don't want my, you know, septic tank messed up because of a new development," she said, adding that previous probes did not give her ‘‘absolute’’ certainty about the lines' extent.

Applicant Jimmy (Jim) Mitchell, who said he is a buyer negotiating purchase of the parcel and not the current owner, told the board a health-department inspector probed the adjoining lots and located two corners and field-line markers. He said the inspector's preliminary judgement was that the field lines were "not on the school property, but they were awful close" and that the inspector plans to testify at the county-commission meeting considering rezoning. Mitchell said title insurance requires resolution of encroachments before closing and offered a 15-foot easement across the back of the lot that would prohibit excavation within that strip as a protective measure.

Neighbors pressed whether probing alone is definitive without excavation; John King said the probe established a point but that field lines can run diagonally and might extend further onto the school parcel. Yolanda Coleman and others asked that the county set boundary lines and raised separate concerns about potential flooding from site grading. The chair and staff clarified that drainage and flooding concerns fall outside the BZA's variance authority and should be addressed to other agencies or committees.

A board member moved to approve the variance contingent on the property being rezoned to R‑2; after a second the board approved by voice vote. The transcript records an "Aye" voice vote but does not include a roll-call tally listing individual votes. The board said written decisions will follow and the applicant said he will ask the health department to excavate or otherwise verify the field lines and will provide a sewer map to the board.

The outcome allows the variance to proceed if the rezoning is approved and title-encroachment issues are resolved; the hearing record notes neighbors' requests for clearer documentation of field-line locations before development proceeds.