10-19-2025 - Agenda Packet Planning Commission - PC Packet

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These unique circumstances combine to create a situation where strict compliance would require environmentally destructive site alterations. 3c. The variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality. Granting the variance will preserve, not alter, the locality's essential character by: • Maintaining the wooded, natural aesthetic through preservation of 89% of trees • Aligning with the established development pattern of properties to the north • Avoiding the construction of multiple tall retaining walls that would dramatically change the property's appearance • Increasing separation from the nearest neighbor from 49' to 76' • Proposing a home design consistent with existing neighborhood architecture 4. Economic considerations alone do not constitute practical difficulties if reasonable use for the property exists under the terms of the Zoning Chapter. This variance request is based on environmental and topographical constraints, not economic considerations. While compliance would require expensive retaining walls and site work, the fundamental issue is that reasonable use cannot be achieved without: • Destroying 70% of the property's mature forest • Creating significant environmental impacts • Fundamentally altering the property's natural character These physical impossibilities, not cost concerns, drive this variance request. 5. Practical difficulties include, but are not limited to, inadequate access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems. While this provision primarily addresses solar access, it recognizes that practical difficulties encompass various site-specific physical constraints. The severe topography of this property creates practical difficulties in site development that are equally compelling, requiring careful building placement to minimize environmental impact and preserve the natural landscape that defines this neighborhood. 6. The Board of Appeals and Adjustments or the Council may not permit as a variance any use that is not allowed under this Chapter for property in the zone where the affected person's land is located. The proposed single-family residential use is explicitly permitted in the R-1 zoning district. This variance request seeks only relief from the average lakeshore setback requirement, not permission for any non-permitted use. 7. The Board or Council may permit as a variance the temporary use of a one- family dwelling as a two-family dwelling. 14