05-28-09 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Zoning Board of Adjustment

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Board of Adjustment June 25, 2009 #Y09-002 Page 2 of4 AnaIvsis: This request was made in conjunction with questions about whether the City should allow half acre increments after the initial one acre for three or four grazing animals. On July 19, 2007, the Planning and Zoning Commission held a workshop where Staff presented an overview of the provisions mandated by the current City Ordinance and similar approaches adopted by the neighboring cities regarding domestic livestock. After a public hearing at the September 20, 2007, meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that animal use requirements as currently presented in the Zoning Ordinance regarding domestic livestock allowable numbers remain intact. At the October 22, 2007 meeting, City Council opted to continue with the current ratio for keeping of livestock in La Porte. Section 1 06-192(b )(1), in the Code of Ordinances, defines 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 defines accessory use as "... incidental and secondary to permitted use on 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 distinguished from a hardship relating to convenience, financial considerations or caprice, and the hardship must not result from the applicant or property owner's own actions; and .:. That by granting the variance, the spirit of the chapter will be observed. Regarding this request, the relief being sought to: