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Council debates restoring buffer-variance authority to ZBA; motion to set 20-foot minimum fails
Summary
The committee discussed restoring limited variance authority to the Zoning Board of Appeals for landscaping buffers (no variance for front corridor buffers, 50% max elsewhere, and a 0.667 vote requirement). A proposal to require buffers not be reduced below 20 feet failed; the committee voted to send the ordinance back to the Planning Commission with one recorded nay.
Steven Brown, who presented the proposed zoning amendment, said the change would allow the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant variances for landscape buffer requirements on major developments under constrained conditions: "they wouldn't be allowed to get any type of variance on the front buffer along the corridor," Brown said, and noted limits such as a maximum 50% variance and a 0.667 vote threshold.
Council members raised concerns that variances could undercut the ordinance's intent and worsen affordability and visual frontage along corridors. One council member proposed an amendment that "no buffer shall be reduced to less than 20 feet" to safeguard existing neighbors; that motion failed after discussion. The committee ultimately voted to return the ordinance to the Planning Commission for further work and public input, with one recorded nay during the vote.
