All right. Good afternoon. My name is Catherine Taylor. I'm one of the Howard County zoning hearing examiners. And we're in here in the case of B-A-24-004-V. Petitioners name is Arthur Sorak. This is a petition to reduce the setback to zero for a segmented block-rotending wall built in the same location as the current failed timber retaining wall that was originally built by the developer. to to the petition, part of the wall falls on the property line. It appears that Mr. Sorak is here and that there are no other participants or attendees. Have you been involved in one of these hearings before? Okay. So because there's no other party here, no other participants, nobody else who will testify or no opposition. This is going to be a lot more casual. Okay. But basically the order in any hearing is that the petitioner, the petitioner goes first and it's your opportunity to place into evidence the support for your request for a variance. Many times the, well, hopefully most of that, most or all of that data is in the petition itself, which certainly you are entitled to refer to. But if there are other explaining, any other explaining you wish to do or anything like that, you're certainly welcome to do that. I will most likely have some questions for you. But because it's just really the two of us, it'll be more, a little more like, you know, back and forth, colloquy as opposed to parties presenting their cases. So what I like to do is, so the record, whatever is in the record is the evidence that I'm entitled to refer to. So at this point, what's in the record is the petition and the revised petition and plans that were filed by you, the agency comments. And then I know that it appears that there were some exhibits that were provided, is that right, Ms. Burke? And I don't know if those were exhibits to the petition or if those were exhibits that you wanted to be admitted during the hearing. And what I'm referring to, there's a separate electronic document called, I think it's just called exhibits. But the first page of it is a survey, the second page appears to be the final site development plan for Centennial Manor. I think they were submitted with the petition package. Those were submitted with the package. Okay, so everything okay. Everything was submitted with the package. Okay. The only other thing that was submitted separately from the packet was with the real estate was an easement agreement between my neighbor and I. Okay. and amended plot we have a okay and that in the filed it which was filed with the real state office by my attorney so okay we have a I have a copy of that if you want it but but I think I have a copy of it. And so there was, as part of that, there was two exhibits. One was a League of Description of the Property. Okay. And one was a, right. So. It's basically a survey showing an easement. Okay, and that's because that's because the wall is on the property line or does it encroach into the neighbors? No, it's on the property line or slightly in front of the property line. And so we were inside the 10 foot setback. I put it, the wall was put precisely where the old wall was. So when I bought the house, it had a timber wall. Okay, so before you get into some of the content, what I like to do is have you state your name, spell your name for the record, and then I'll swear you on. Okay, yes, my name is Arthur Sorak, ARTHUR, my last name, SORAK, no middle name. And you sound like promises to speak truthfully and it has some of your about to get. Yes. Okay, so we were talking about the exhibits, all of the documents that were submitted, that we have were submitted with the petition or the revised petition, except for a survey and property description right of the easement. Right, they were, so it's a retaining wall maintenance easement agreement. Okay and and that was filed with the real estate division and that has as attachments the survey and a legal description of the property. And Did you say that there was an amendment to the site the site plan or the subdivision. So the site development plan would have to be red lined after. Okay. As I understand it. Okay. So your attorney has taken care of making sure that the site development plan is amended that read lined in order for this management. I have right an engineering company. Okay. And they're prepared to do the red line but that would be after the permits approved. Well so I would be only I would only be approving a variance. OK. And then at that point you can go get the building permit. Okay. Right. And you're having somebody construct the wall. Correct. The walls already constructed. Okay. So did you get here because there was a violation noted. It's a violation. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. So my contractor was supposed to get a permit he ran into difficulty convinced me to do it without the permit and here we are I'm just curious how did it get to DPC I mean who he had he had filed I mean do you know who complained? Nobody complained. Oh they had our open application. Oh and they came out and looked and came out and looked. God and it was already about okay. Okay so yeah so what I was going to say is because I did notice in the petition that the petition states that the wall is on essentially on the property line. Part of it is, yes. A part of it is. Okay. So, right. And so, to the extent there is any ownership issue, easement, you know, right of way, I don't get into that. And so even if I would grant a variance, that variance really only applies to your parcel and doesn't necessarily, and you say that's not encroaching, but it wouldn't approve an encroachment if there was one, right? that easement that you already have that is necessary to account for any potential encroachment either of the structure or to go onto the neighbor's property to maintain the wall. Right. Right. OK. OK. So your your your turn and your chance to you know state whatever. You know additional facts that are not in the petition or any facts that you want to highlight that are in the petition that support your request for a variance. I have a picture. Okay. Would you like to see? Sure, this has not been submitted. No, it has not been submitted. Okay. But it would just give you an idea. Yes. So you can, we'll mark that petitioner's exhibit one. And so it's just a picture before, these basically before. Okay. Okay. So the timber wall was bowed out, popped, water, it was washing out from behind it. It was totally failed. And that is actually the part, the failed part is the part that's on the property line. So is the house shown in this picture, your house? Yes. Okay, okay. So it's very close to the house. Okay, so really it's retaining wall to hold the neighbor's yard in. Right. So it's a very steep hillside. Yes. And if the way the house is placed on a lot, which I don't think there's a lot of options as to have a place the house on the lot, but the lot is very sloped. Got it. And as I understand it early in the, and this is, here say from my neighbors, that are original to the neighborhood, but they built the house, they had water problems, and then the developer came and built the retaining wall. Oh, interesting, so there wasn't a wall before then. But it's on the original survey. So I don't know. I don't really know if that story is valid. It's got it. But it is on the original survey plat of the house. But not on the site development plan. So in this picture, the first picture, which is of the former timber wall, that's your house on the left hand side, and then your deck, but in the next picture, the deck doesn't appear. Is that because... That's, pictures taken from the deck. Or the next picture is just the angle. The deck is still there. It was just matter the angle of the picture. It was probably, I probably stood a little more to the left, so you have more of a wall to the right in on it. Got it. Okay, and then the third picture is from the deck. From the deck, yeah, that's the rest of the wall because it wraps around. Okay, and then the fence, the split rail fence, is that your fence or the neighbor's fence? It's my fence. And that is on the property line? It's on the property line. OK, so the part of the wall that essentially touches the fence is the part that is on the boundary. Yeah, correct. I'm just going to sit. OK. And then it looks like most, most are all of the wall is within the setback. Right, so I have the drawings which were submitted with the variance. Okay. The elevation of the wall you mean? Yes, elevation and top view and the elevation. I'm going to do a same color as the other one. All right. I'm just looking at the zoning regulation section that applies to see if there any specific. This is on this is the original plate. I think I have a copy of that. What's that? I think I have a copy of that. So you can see on the plate, which is, he just transposed it to the wall drawing with a location of the wall in relation to the property line. Got it. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. Okay. Yeah, there's a separate keeps. Okay. Yeah, there's a separate keeps. Okay, yeah, there's a separate keeps section that refers to requirements for retaining walls. The normal requirement is a 10 foot setback, which would put it within about 8 feet of the house, and take away my deck. Okay, so retaining walls 3 feet or less, or subject or exempt from the setbacks another lot line, closed walls, closed fences, walls and retaining walls, over three feet and up to six feet or exempt. But this is up to 10 feet, you said? Seven. Seven, okay. And it's not a pipe stem lot, correct? It's not what? It's not a pipe stem lot. A pipe stem is like a flag lot. It's a flag lot. Oh, it is Okay, still the same requirement Okay, so I just wanted to see if there were any additional requirements for this type of wall, but basically it's the setback applies. OK. OK, and so in order to prove that your entitled to a variance, you generally have to show that the lot, some physical property or physical characteristic of the lot is unique. It seems to me that in this situation it would be the steep slope from one lot to another requiring some sort of structure to keep the dirt in place. And then also, I think because your house, the house itself is angled in the building restriction line. That is, that basically makes it so there's actually less space between the back corner of the house and the side boundary. So... So And it does appear that the variance requested is the minimum necessary because the wall has to go where it is. Can't really move it. Correct. Without extreme expense, and it wouldn't be practical in any of that. And there would also be no negative or negative effects, let's say, to the character of the property or the character of the neighborhood. In fact, it wasn't existing. The retaining wall there since the building of the house which failed and this is merely a replacement. Right, it's just a replacement. A much better, a much more sturdy replacement than the prior timber wall. Especially given the timbers of these days. They don't hold up like the old timbers. Got it. the... Hard to find that hard wood. Well, it's the treatment of the treated lumber. Right. In the 80s, when they built it, the treated lumber used contained arsenic. Yes. Right. And they took the arsenic out, and the treated lumber doesn't last as long anymore. Without the poison. Without the poison. Right. A treated lumber wall would have cost approximately the same as the segmented block wall. Interesting. It would not have required a permit because it would be considered repair as I'm told. But it, but the cost is the same and it wouldn't have lasted near as long. Right. Yeah, I can't really come in on whether, what, what have required a permit or not, but it would have been a replacement, unless you just repaired parts of it, but that's moot at this point. Right. So based upon what I've seen in the petition, what I've heard here inclined to grant the request. That decision is not effective until a written decision in order is issued. Generally hearing examiners have 30 days from the date that the record is closed, which will be today, to issue the written decision. This will be a shorter one and I'll do my best to get that out sooner than that 30-day time period. And with that, we can close the record and the hearing. Okay, great. I have until June before my permanent expires forever. Forever. Understood. Okay. I've extended it as far as I could. Got it. Okay. So yes, I appreciate your haste. Okay.