STANLY COUNTY Wacen Ain Lard, Saocess,  Stanly County Board of Adjustment June 14, 2022-1 Meeting Minutes  Call to Order Chair Cindy Fish called the meeting to order on June 14, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. int the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at 10001 N. First Street, Albemarle, North Carolina. Bob Remsburg served as  Clerk oft the meeting.  Stanly County Board of Adjustment Members attending Absent: Brenda Farmer and Billy Franklin Lee  Richard Cosgrove, Michael Fleming, Cindy Fish, Rick. Johnson, Devron Furr and Michael Efird  Stanly County Planning Staff Attending Bob Remsburg, Planning Director; Bailey Emrich, Planner 2 Others Present: Rhonda Marrone, Denise. Alexander, Howard Chandler, Martha Garber & Gary Garber Chair Cindy Fish asked for ai motion to adopt the agenda ifr no changes needed to be made  Motion: Richard Cosgrove Second: Michael Efird Passed: 6-0  Chair Fish asked for ai motion to adopt the minutes from May 10, 2022.  Motion: Michael Fleming Second: Devron Furr Passed: 6-0  Chair Fish announced there would only be one case.  Chair Fish introduced ZV: 22-02- ai request by Rhonda Marrone to have a reduced side setback of5 feet from the west side property line and 20 feet from the front property line for a new single family home. Those who signed in on the sign up sheet to speak came forward to recite the swearing in ceremony. Chair Fish stated' "The Stanly County Board of Adjustment is a quasi-judicial board. Therefore, thel North Carolina State Statute, requires that the board base its decisions only on testimony given under oath. Any person who, while under oath during this proceeding, willfully swears falsely, is guilty ofa class 1 misdemeanor. Ifanyone refuses to bes sworn, your statement will not not bet treated as evidence on which  tol base a decision but merely as arguments".    STANLY COUNTY Wacen Ain Land. Saccese.  Chair Fish stated "Before opening the evidentiary hearing, Iwould like to give Board members a chance to reveal any possible conflicts that you may have and withdraw from these proceedings ifnecessary".  Nol Board members had a conflict.  Chair Fish stated "Any Board members who have any information or special knowledge about the case that may come out at thel hearing tonight, please describe that information for the record so that interested  persons will know and can respond". Chair Fish explained the proceedings.  Chair Fish stated' "Parties may cross examine each witness after the witness testifies when questions are called for. Ify you want the Board to see written evidence such as reports and maps or exhibits, the witness who isi familiar with the evidence should ask that it bei introduced during or at the end ofhis /her testimony. Thel Board cannot accept reports from persons who are not here to testify. Attorneys who speak should not give factual testimony but may summarize their client's case. Before you begin your testimony,  please clearly identify yourself for the record."  Chair Fish asked Planning Staff to: share the details ofZV22-02.  Mr. Remsburg shared thei following:  Some oft the information you received said east side setbacks andj part oft that was because we used a map that Environmental Health had used and their map was upside down. Rhonda Marrone'sI request is fora potential new single family home at4 46383 Beach Road, New London tol have ar reduced side setback of6 61 feet from the west side property line and 201 feet from the front property line due to thel location oft the septic system and thel location oft the neighbor's well. This lot is approximately 5,000 square feet in size andj previously contained a garage which has since been removed and did not meet the required front or side setbacks andi is zoned R20, which is like all other lakefront lots. The normal required setbacks would be 30' from the front, 12' from the sides, and 10' from the rear. The home to be built is 24' wide on a 50' wide lot. This would require the west side setback to bei reduced to 5'. The designated location oft the septic system as established by the Environmental Health Department on the rear of the property (lake side) would move the home closer to NCI Dept. ofl Environmental Quality rules as enforced by the Stanly County Environmental Health! Department requires that any structure be at least 25 feet from an existing well and the: zoning ordinance requires aj primary structure to be 121 feet from the side property line. Thej property located to the east sidel has an existing well that is approximately. 51 feet from the property line. The adjoiner has noti indicated to the Environmental Health Department that they are willing to abandon the well or grant a variance to thei required well setback requirement. Adjoining homes have approximately 141 foot side setbacks, according to GIS. Many homes are  thei front property line, making the front setback 201 feet instead oft the required 301 feet.  close to thes side setbacks due to the size of the lots when created.  Mr. Remsburg went through slideshow images oft the lot and proposed home site. Keepi in mind youl have the four standards that need to be met.    STANLY COUNTY Wacen Ain Land.. Saccess,  Standard #1 -1 the unnecessary hardship results from the strict application oft the ordinance; Standard #2 - the unnecessary hardship results from conditions that are peculiar to the applicant'sp property; Standard #4 - the requested variance is consistent with the spirit, purpose andi intent oft the ordinance such that  Standard #3 - the unnecessary hardship is not a self-created hardship; public safety is secured and substantial justice is achieved. Mr. Remsburg showed an image of the most recent survey.  Richard Cosgrove stated" 1 Itl looks to me. like the home is on top of the septic field."  Mr. Remsburg stated' "T think there is enough space there that the environmental health department determined thel best area. It think they realized there was no way toj put a home on this parcel and avoid all oft the good dirt area. That whole area was approved for septic but it does not necessarily take that whole area for the septic Ms. Marrone shared' "The septic area had aj pre-existing tank and the field has terracotta already in place and sO when the county came and looked ati it they said I need ai new septic tank in that location so it could hook up to the existing lines. Iti is going to be a: new tank and the connections to the existing pipes that are already there Richard Cosgrove stated' "I understand, I amj just wondering how you can cover up: part ofy your septic field with your house, but apparently there will not be any septic under that small corner oft the house." Mr. Remsburg stated "Correct, I believe there is a small distance you have to havel between a structure and line Michael Fleming asked "In section 704 in the third paragraph it allows accessory buildings and I realize that thisi is principal but it does allow the accessory building tol be within 20 feet oft the front property line provided certain things are: maintained like a visual clearance. When you have seen the site can you say that if we allow thel home to be 20 feet from the front line, will visual clearance be allowed?" Mr. Remsburg stated' "The house tot the righti is roughly 131 feet from the front. Thel house to thel lefti is quite far back. Idon't] know where the systems are on the adjoining lots. Thel homes in this area are most times close to  system."  will need to be completed. Which is why we are reduced in where we. have to go.  work."  the road and side property line."  Richard Cosgrove asked' "Is it normal to see two variances on one lot?"  Mr. Remsburg stated "I have seen this done a good bit especially on the lake. A lot oft the time itl has to do with  where the septic has to go."  Devron Furr asked "How did the garage end up on this lot by itselfbefore?" not allow lots to have an accessory structure on thej property alone unless iti is 3 acres."  Mr. Remsburg stated' "We are not sure and some of the neighbors may be able to answer that. The county does The neighbors shared that the 21 lots were owned by the same family and at one time there was a mobile home  on thej property that has since been taken away.  Chair Fish invited Rhonda Marrone to speak ini favor of her request.  Rhonda Marrone shared that it was difficult to try and fit thel home to meet the restrictions. To maintain the distance from the well and from thei rear she worked with thes surveyor and the builder to make sure it would be able to fit. It has been upsetting to the neighbors because of all the different things that happened. Before the    STANLY COUNTY Wacen An Lard,. Succens,  surveyor came out, as surveyor from the seller did one and there were somei issues with it. Some issues with the neighbors had to do with what they were told from the seller's surveyor. Itisac concern when dealing with  people's property and that is understood. Chair Fish askedi ift there were any questions  There were none  Chair Fish invited those opposing the request to come up.  Denise Alexander shared that she neighbored this property and most ofl her questions had been answered. She was under the assumption most oft the other homes in the neighborhood met the setbacks, that was a concern based on the rest of the neighborhood. There are other lots in the neighborhood that we would be concerned that they would want the same treatment. She shared that she was confused how it can be only 5 feet on one side and 201 feet on the other side and not more centered on thel lot. She shared concerns about the setback of5 feet beside her property because of the overhang. She shared she wants her to be able to build there but did not Michael Efird shared that there has to be a 25 foot offset from a well to a structure. Mr. Earnhardt owns the Michael Fleming shared that the variance with Environmental Health is much different than the variance with zoning. Environmental Health issues variances concerning setbacks from wells and septic systems which deal with public safety issues. The: zoning thel board can change is more about the use ofl land andl how thel landi is used. Hes shared it can be understood why Environmental Health would not want to grant a variance. Mr. Remsburg shared that iti is two separate questions. A variance can be granted with Environmental Health but thati is not under the purview of the Zoning Department or thel Board of Adjustment. Unless something changes iti is the understanding that isn't an option at this point. They may be willing to consider that but itl has not been approved so thati is currently not an option. The county policy is to measure from the closest point of thes structure. Many oft the homes are very close to the 12 foot setback and many are closer. Howard Chandler shared there are three stakes driven on his property line and it is difficult to find out which one is accurate. There have been two different surveyors there and they are not sure which one is right. Mr. Mr. Resmburg shared thats staffi relies al lot on the surveyors. Mr. Drake, who did the last survey, does al lot of surveying in the county. He will rely on coordinates, previous deeds, may check adjoining deeds just to make sure it all matches up. It can come close to a couple of inches but when you get a small lot every inch counts andi iti is hard. It would not be surprising if you heard a surveyor say that they were close but were unsure. Ms. Marrone shared that the surveyor came out to double check everything. There are two stakes because the property is not straight across, iti is angled. The surveyor talked tol Denise and Mrs. Marrone to explain how this had to be done. Thel land was initially one plot! but was then subdivided out and became these smaller lots.  understand why it was all one one side. closest well andi it would not meet that 25 feet.  Chandler stated that his well is right next to thej property line.  Chair Fish asked how far Mr. Chandler's home was: from Mrs. Marrone's 'sj property. Mr. Chandler stated maybe 101 foot or more. He was not sure because of the several stakes. Mr. Chandler discussed his concern with the unclear property line issue. has come along. Some areas of concern were always on the water.  Rick Johnson shared he was experienced in the mapping industry and that since he was there new technology  Michael Efird asked how close Mr. Chandler's home was to the front] property line.    STANLY COUNTY Wacer. Ain Lard. Succesr,  Mr. Chandler shared 15 or 161 feet.  Martha Garber shared that based on the survey it has tol be 20 feet from the line on the west side because of the Environmental Department. She shared she didi not understand why that was because itl had nothing to do with that side of the home. She stated it did not make sense to have 51 feet on one side and 20 feet on the other side. Mr. Remsburg shared the rule statewide for a welli is that it has to be 25 feet from the structure. My understanding is that it is not an option in this case. Ift the Chandlers would grant that variance through Environmental Health then the home could be shifted. The concern would be contamination oft the well. Michael Fleming shared that he alsol had an issue with this whenever he added to his home on Lake Tillery. Gary Garber shared that there has already been a structure built which was the old building. There is going to be a concrete slab still there. Hes shared he would say that from the environmental standpoint that ift there was Ms. Marrone shared she was required to take thel building down. She shared that she has to cut the slab toj just 20 feet up to her house. She shared her home would not bel built on the slab because it was required tol be taken Mr. Remsubrg shared that an at grade slab does not apply to zoning. Regulations allow easements and  already a structure there couldi it not be shifted to that existing slab.  out.  driveways up to thej property lines.  Mr. Garber asked ift the well was being used actively.  Mr. Earnhardt shared thati it was not being used actively but he may use iti in the future. Mrs.. Alexander shared that it was not that they did not want her home there they just wanted iti in the Chair Fish stated if there were no further comments from the public she would close thej public hearing Standard #1 - That thej project will not materially endanger public health or safety; ifl located where  boundaries.  and the Board would begin reviewing the four standards.  proposed, and if developed and operated according to the plan submitted; Motion: Michael Fleming made a motion to approve Motion: Devron Furr made a motion to approve  Second: Michael Efird Passed: 6-0  Standard #2 -That the project will not substantially injure the value of adjoining property.  Second: Michael Fleming Passed: 6-0  Standard #3 - That the project willl be in harmony with or compatible with its neighbors and is generally  consistent with the latest Stanly County Land-Use Plan. Motion:Rick Johnson made a motion to approve  Second: Michael Efird Passed: 6-0 Second: Devron Furr Passed: 6-0  Standard #4 - That thej project meets all other required conditions and specifications.  Motion: Michael Fleming made a motion to approve  Chair Fish asked for ai motion to approve or deny the zoning variances    STANLY COUNTY Wacer. Ain Lard. Socene.  Motion: Rick. Johnson Second: Michael Efird Approved: 6-0 Court.  Chair Fish stated that those affected had thirty days to appeal the decision to the Stanly County Superior  Chair Fish asked for a motion to adjourn Motion: Michael Efird Second: Richard Cosgrove Passed: 6-0  Apa Bkhs Clerk, Bob Remsburg