05-22-2003 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Zoning Board of Adjustment

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• Zoning Board of Adjustment July 24; 2003 #V 03-002 Page 2 of 3 C7 Anal sis: Section 106-192(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 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. In determining if granting the. applicant's request would be contrary to the general public, Staff recognizes that the development of the property would not create a problem with adjoining properties. ...When looking at the second condition, Staff has determined that the property does meet the physical hardship test. Literal enforcement of current regulations would render the site "unbuildable". As previously noted in this report, relief from the standard front yard setback is being considered separately (under a special exception request); therefore, only the rear yard issues are discussed in this report. As shown on the attached site plan, an angling creek located at the rear of the property, determines the location of the designated conservation area. That location in tum determines~where the standard 20' conservation setback area is located on the property. The ZBOA's final consideration is whether granting of this request, observes the spirit of the ordinance. Based on the facts noted in this report, the applicant's request could be considered reasonable if within the spirit of the ordinance. An additional concern is the determination of the line on the property that represents Mean Sea Level. This deteiinination may affect the applicant's ability to build based on state and federal regulations.