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Homeowner tells board topography, retaining wall and stormwater drove driveway design
Summary
Applicant Julie Fitzgerald told the board that steep lot topography, an existing retaining wall and stormwater management requirements made reducing the poured driveway by 3 feet impractical and would disrupt engineered drainage on the lot.
Applicant Julie Fitzgerald presented the homeowners' case, saying the steep slope at 114 Northeast Upper Bassett Circle required specific engineering to manage stormwater and that reducing the driveway by 3 feet 3 inches would disrupt a retaining wall and planned drainage. Fitzgerald provided 11x17 printed plans and photos and asked the board to consider the lot's special circumstances: "The steep slope ... requires considerable amount of engineering and planning to develop a very well built driveway and very good stormwater management," she said.
Fitzgerald said the applicants relied on designer plans and on assurances during the permitting process that their mirrored designs were approved before construction began, and she urged the board to weigh the hardship and the neighborhood context of other wider driveways. The board considered her hardship testimony alongside staff's explanation of permit handling before making findings of fact and approving the variance.
