Montreat Board of Adjustment grants variance for 136 Virginia Road

MONTREAT, N.C. — The Montreat Board of Adjustment voted May 26 to grant a variance allowing construction of a porch, a lean‑to greenhouse and a chimney at 136 Virginia Road by reducing the southern/front setback from 30 feet to 15 feet.

The board opened a quasi‑judicial evidentiary hearing for the application (PIN 071065742500000), where staff described the request as relief under Montreat zoning ordinance section 502.5 for a 0.518‑acre double‑frontage lot. Staff told members the site slopes about 18.25 percent per Buncombe County’s steep slope calculator and that the property is not subject to the Hillside Development Ordinance.

Nicholas Swan, a contractor with Balsam Built who presented the application, said the project involves moving and roofing an existing open porch, screening it in, attaching a small greenhouse and adding a chimney. “So basically, what I’m saying is we’re only requesting a foot, variance,” Swan said, characterizing the change from the existing closest point to the proposed footprint as minimal.

Homeowners who spoke described the house as historic and primarily in need of functional updates. The homeowner said the house was built about 1913 and that the renovation is about systems and modest exterior adjustments. On the greenhouse location, the homeowner told the board the chosen site provides southern exposure and that moving the structure to the west would place it under heavy hemlock shade and defeat the greenhouse’s purpose.

Board members questioned whether the existing house, which staff called legally nonconforming, required a variance only for new construction and whether the hardship claimed was peculiar to the lot. Several members noted the lot’s double frontage reduces buildable area compared with neighboring lots and said that factor weighed in favor of relief. At least one member asked whether a smaller variance or alternate placement could avoid the need for relief.

After deliberation the board member who moved the motion noted the double‑frontage constraint and a second board member supported granting the variance. The motion carried on a voice vote with no recorded opposition; the chair announced the variance was granted. The board then instructed staff to draft a final order, which the board adopted later in the meeting.

The hearing record lists the applicant as Nicholas Swan and the property owners as members of the Hardy family; staff presented the variance as a request to section 502.5 of the Montreat zoning ordinance. The board emphasized that its decision must be based on competent, relevant and substantial evidence presented at the hearing, consistent with the procedural rules for quasi‑judicial matters.

Also during the meeting the board introduced its new zoning administrator, Shelley Johnston, who said she comes to Montreat from Forest City and will work part time (typically Tuesdays and Thursdays on site). Members discussed administrative matters including packet distribution, the need for an ETJ representative, and a request from the chair that board members visit properties before hearings while avoiding ex parte contacts. The meeting adjourned after the board approved the final order for the variance.