03-22-07 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Zoning Board of Adjustment

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. j' Staff Report May 24, 2007 Variance Request #V07-003 Requested by: Requested for: Location: Zonin!!:: Back1!round: Analvsis: Tina & John May (Property Owners) Lot 16, Block 29, Fairmont Park East Section 3, William M. Jones Survey, Abstract 482, La Porte, Harris County, Texas. 10849 E. Linwood Dr. Low Density Residential (R -1 ) The subject property is located at the northwest comer of Linwood Drive and Fleetwood Road in the Fairmont Park East, Section 3. Per the survey, this property is 7,249 square feet with two story brick and frame house. The primary residence has 2,117 square feet of living area, which was built in 1992 per Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) record. There is a pool, spa with a wooden deck in the rear yard of the house. Earlier, the applicant erected a side yard fence along Fleetwood Dr. over the height limit and without obtaining a City permit. The applicant, subsequent to the City's code enforcement violation notice, applied for variance to regulate the fence erected without permit. As the fence is constructed in violation of Section 106-793 of the Code of Ordinances, permit cannot be issued until the Board of Adjustment's consideration in this matter. Per Section 106-793, ".. . fences of not higher than six feet excluding six-inch rot board shall be permitted within side yards and rear yards." This variance request seeks to allow the current fence with a height of average seven feet to remain in place. Section 1 06-192(b )(1), in the Code of Ordinances, defmes a variance as a deviation from the literal provisions of the chapter, which is granted by the Board when strict conformity to the chapter would cause an unnecessary hardship because of the circumstances unique to the property on which the variance is granted Section 106-1 defmes fence as "... the manmade structural barrier erected on or around a piece of property." Except as otherwise prohibited, the board is empowered to authorize a variance from a requirement when the board finds that all of the following conditions have been met. .:. That the granting of the variance will not be contrary to the best public interest. .:. That literal enforcement of the chapter will result in unnecessary hardship because of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, shape, topography or other extraordinary or exceptional physical situation unique to the specific piece of property in question. "Unnecessary hardship" shall mean physical hardship relating to the property itself as