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Board cites state statute and warns that a developmental variance risks permanent spot zoning
Summary
Board members cited a state statutory standard for developmental variances and repeatedly warned that granting such a variance could amount to spot zoning unless the board added a recorded covenant to ensure the property reverts to residential zoning upon sale or business cessation.
Board members discussed the legal bar for a developmental variance, noting that additions for a commercial purpose can shift an application into the higher 'developmental variance' standard and risk creating spot zoning in a residential district.
The Chair summarized the key statutory concepts: "the strict application of zoning ordinance will result in practical difficulties for the use of the property by the owner," and emphasized the need for something "peculiar to the property" to meet the fourth criterion. Members referenced past council actions (a Masonic Lodge example) as a procedural precedent for imposing a reversion covenant when permitting a nonconforming commercial use. The board approved a covenant-oriented stipulation to mitigate the risk that future buyers could continue commercial uses if the variance were permanent.
