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Platte County Board of Zoning Adjustment grants three variances, scales back one front-yard request
Summary
At its Nov. 5 meeting, the Platte County Board of Zoning Adjustment approved three variance requests — for 8605 Covered Bridge Road, 24315 Highway 45 North (Armour Road) and 6090 Northwest Copper Hill Lane — including an amended approval that reduced a requested front-yard variance by 10 feet. Staff acknowledged a platting error on one lot.
The Platte County Board of Zoning Adjustment approved three property variances at its Nov. 5 meeting, granting relief from setback rules for accessory structures and dwellings while amending one request to reduce the front-yard encroachment.
Jason Haldeman, assistant director of planning and zoning, opened the meeting by entering exhibits including the Black County zoning order and subdivision regulations and presenting three separate variance requests. “The property is extremely narrow — it’s literally 100 feet wide, and so it’s impossible to meet a 100-foot setback,” Haldeman said of the first application, for a 1.44-acre lot at 8605 Covered Bridge Road. The applicant, identified in the hearing as Cameo Patch, requested a variance from the AG district’s 100-foot minimum side-yard setback to build a 36-by-50-foot shed; staff recorded the proposed siting at about 24.7 feet from one side property line. The board voted 5–0 to grant the variance.
The second request involved an 8.55-acre, triangular, steep lot at 24315 Highway 45 North (referred to in the record as Armour Road). Applicant Billy Atchison sought relief from front- and side-yard setback provisions to build a shop. Haldeman said topography, a railroad right-of-way and the lot’s unusual shape limited buildable areas. Board members discussed whether the shop could be moved 5 to 10 feet off the front property line; a motion to grant the variance as amended — allowing the structure to be sited at least 10 feet off the front property line (a reduced front-yard variance compared with the original request) — passed 5–0.
On the third item, staff described a 4.78-acre lot at 6090 Northwest Copper Hill Lane within the newly platted Copper Hill Reserve subdivision. The applicant (Andrews Trust, represented by a builder) asked for a 12.5-foot variance from the 30-foot side-yard requirement in the R-80 district so a house could be sited roughly 17.5 feet from the side line. Haldeman told the board the narrower front-build line resulted from a platting oversight by staff and the surveyor: “That was our error, but we don’t have the ability to just wave a magic wand, fix it,” he said. A developer in the audience suggested an 8-foot variance per side as a compromise; the board approved an 8-foot side-yard variance by a 5–0 vote.
The board then approved meeting minutes (with two abstentions noted), welcomed new members Becky Bauer and John Higgins, and adjourned. The next meeting was set for February at 6 p.m. in the same room.
Votes at a glance
- 8605 Covered Bridge Road (variance to AG side-yard setback to build 36×50 shed): motion approved, vote 5–0. - 24315 Highway 45 North (front-yard and side-yard variance for shop; front-yard variance amended to require at least 10 feet from the front property line): motion approved, vote 5–0. - 6090 Northwest Copper Hill Lane (side-yard variance in R-80 to permit house placement; approved as an 8-foot variance): motion approved, vote 5–0.
What happens next
Approved variances allow applicants to pursue building permits consistent with the modified setbacks; staff and applicants discussed minor siting adjustments during the meeting. The board did not identify further hearings for these items at the Nov. 5 session.
