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Board legitimizes preexisting outbuilding on Old U.S. 19/23 with limited setback variance
Summary
The board approved a variance to allow a side setback of 4.5 feet for a 336‑sq‑ft accessory structure identified in tax records as built in 2010, enabling owner Joshua Robbins to regularize a building on his 1.25‑acre property with conditions.
The Buncombe County Board of Adjustment approved a setback variance for property owner Joshua Robbins that will allow an existing accessory building to remain in its current location with a reduced side setback.
Staff described the application (ZPH2024‑00029) as a request to allow a side setback of 4.5 feet where 10 feet is required on a 1.25‑acre parcel on Old U.S. 19/23. Robbins said he acquired the property in 2022 and that the structure appears in aerial images around 2010; he told the board he purchased the lot intending to create affordable housing and said removing or moving the building would be expensive and would undermine his plans. A witness and parts of the tax card in the record indicate the accessory structure is listed as built in 2010 and measured roughly 336 square feet.
Board members discussed the timing and the available evidence — aerial photographs, tax card entries and testimony from a witness who said the team attempted to secure a survey during COVID — and added a condition limiting the variance to the specific structure identified in the record. The board voted to adopt findings of fact and to grant the variance; staff will draft the formal order reflecting the condition that the variance applies only to the structure identified as built in 2010 (approx. 336 sq ft).
