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Planner finds building coverage drives most zoning variance requests in Chatham
Summary
A planner’s five-year review found 55 zoning-board applications from 2019–2023, with roughly 70% involving building-coverage variances; the board discussed data-driven options to reduce variance filings, including changes to FAR and incentives for pervious surfaces.
Board planner Kendra Lizzie presented an analysis of zoning-board resolutions from 2019 through 2023, reporting "there were 55 total applications over the last 5 years," and that more than 70% of variance requests involved building coverage rather than FAR or height.
Kendra said the average building coverage requested was about 19.2% of a lot and that the average departure from the ordinance was roughly 2.6 percentage points — figures she used to ask whether the planning board should consider code changes to reduce repetitive variance filings. "What was more important to me was to take a look at that and say, okay...what was it from what was permitted versus what they provided as far as a departure from the ordinance?" she said.
Board members pressed on whether the planner had reviewed approvals only; Kendra confirmed she reviewed resolutions and noted nearly all the cases in the packet were approved, with one denial that later returned and was approved. Members suggested code tweaks targeted at small and corner lots, and discussed how detached garages and long driveways affect coverage calculations.
The planner offered to provide follow-up analysis, including a model of a 2% FAR reduction across the table to show how allowable house size would change and an examination of impacts by lot size. The board left the item as a discussion and did not adopt any ordinance changes at this meeting.
