Board voids earlier approval and denies variance for gravel parking at 405 Dallas St.

The De Soto Board of Adjustment voted on Dec. 15 to withhold a requested variance that would have allowed property owner Ivan Olson to put gravel in the side yard at 405 Dallas Street for vehicle parking.

Olson told the board he had a gravel pad at the side of his property since buying the house in 1992 and sought permission to re-establish gravel for parking. He said that last year the side yard had been asphalted and the city ordered its removal, a change he said affected his preexisting condition.

Board members cited Chapter 69, Parking Regulations (section 69.06(18)), which prohibits parking, standing and driving on unpaved areas in front and side yards and on the area of the public way lying between lot lines and the street edge. Public Works Director Van Langen told the board the city plans to update its Code of Ordinances in the coming year.

Don Pierce moved to allow Olson to gravel the side yard with the caveat that the gravel might have to be removed in the future; that motion received no second. Pierce then moved, and Samantha Long seconded, to grant the variance. That motion passed 2-1, with Long and Pierce voting in favor and Kelly Haugen opposed.

Resident Josh Minton addressed the board after the vote, arguing that a variance requires an unnecessary hardship and that "no such hardship has been presented tonight." Following further discussion, Haugen moved and Long seconded to void the earlier grant and not to grant the variance until Olson provides additional documentation. Haugen, Long and Pierce voted in favor and the motion carried 3-0, leaving the variance denied pending further information.

The board did not specify what documents would satisfy the requirement; no timetable for resubmission was recorded. The board adjourned at 7:10 p.m.