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Commission discusses precedent for waiving stable/corral set-asides in constrained lots
Summary
Commissioners debated whether granting variances to waive stable and corral set-asides risks setting a precedent but agreed that steep slopes, easements and access limitations justify relief in specific cases.
During deliberations on both Eastfield Drive projects commissioners debated whether approving variances that waive required set-aside areas for stables and corrals would create a precedent. Several commissioners said they do not want to broadly erode the municipal requirement but acknowledged that some lots are physically incapable of supporting a compliant set-aside without multiple additional variances.
Planning staff repeatedly pointed to site constraints — greater-than-2:1 slopes, roadway and association easements, and required 35-foot buffers from primary residences — as the basis for supporting single variances rather than requiring owners to pursue multiple concurrent variances. Commissioners asked staff to continue exercising care to avoid a pattern of routinely waiving the requirement, while allowing relief where the physical realities of a lot make compliance infeasible.
