Maggie Valley Zoning Board grants 5-foot setback variance for Panoramic Loop home over one dissent

The Town of Maggie Valley Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4-1 to grant a five-foot variance that reduces the required side-yard setback for a house at 356 Panoramic Loop from 10 feet to 5 feet, allowing homeowners Tim and Sandra Tullos to add space for a larger bedroom and bathroom on the main level.

Town Planner Sam Cullen told the board the proposal stems from limitations of a small, corner lot with road frontage on two sides that restrict the buildable area. Cullen said the structure would sit five feet from a right-of-way and approximately nine feet from the street if the variance is approved. He entered the application, staff report, property plat, four findings of fact and the Town of Maggie Valley Unified Development Ordinance into the record.

The Tulloses’ objective, the owner testified, is to make the home more accessible as they age. "The bathroom is entirely too small for two people," Tim Tullos said, describing an existing closet roughly 24 inches deep and 66 inches wide. "To make my house livable for us is the only purpose we are here for," he added.

Board members debated whether the request represented a legitimate accessibility need or an aesthetic preference. Vice Chairman Marion Hamel said she worried about setting a precedent for variances based on appearance. "If no variance is needed to do this, what are we doing here?" Hamel asked during deliberations. Other members disagreed: Shelly Clement said the corner lot's constraints and remaining street setback supported the variance, and David Carriker and Amber Patterson said they found the request reasonable and not merely cosmetic.

Cullen told the board the Planning Department offered no formal recommendation because of what he called vague language in state statute GS-160D related to "reasonable use" and discussion of accessibility and the Fair Housing Act. "Prior to GS-160D's language about the Fair Housing Act, this case probably would not have had a hearing," he said, noting uncertainty in how to weigh accessibility needs under current statutory language.

After Chairman Bill Banks read the required four findings of fact, Carriker moved to grant the variance and Amber Patterson seconded. The motion passed 4-1; Hamel cast the sole no vote.

Banks later encouraged the board to use the Haywood County GIS website as a resource in future cases. The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 p.m.

What happens next: The transcript and minutes show the variance was approved; any building permits, inspections or additional approvals required before construction were not specified in the record.