Variance process

Check County and local municipality on-line guidelines regarding variances.

Usually in this area a 10% variance is tolerated, but I've gone to 66 2/3% .

Cheers

Derek

Variance process>yup

Around here there are various hoops to jump through, the primary one being that the need for the variance is not self imposed!

That being said, the local opinion is that there has never been a legal variance granted.

We suggest that the client engage an attorney to make the arguments since it can result in a title encumbrance wither by approving or disapproving.

Thank you, that is actually very helpful

Variance process>yup

Thank you.

If the Development committee grants the variance, doesn't that clean title?

All depends on the local government. If it's a recorded plat (subdivision) I might recommend first filing a re-plat showing the new and improved B.L. & U.E.

Now, in my little ol' city, where I sit on the council, it's relatively simple to make an agenda item, come before the council, and ask for the variance. If you get it, great, if you don't, you can appeal it to the Board of Adjustments, which can only meet on zoning issues. Their ruling, save a district court, is final and the council cannot go against them.

Look at your zoning rules and laws for the applicable government agency (county, city, state, ETJ, etc.) and look at their UDC and see what it says and the remedies for each. Each one is going to be as different as another so really, unless someone here practices in the same exact area, are not going to be helpful in this particular question.

Variance process>yup

There is no title to clean, only whether the building actually go built within the framework of the lot. There is no cloud on the title unless the building goes over the line and some AP becomes at play.

> The HOA recommended not to go thru the county.

Huh? Who did the HOA recommend? Assuming you are outside city limits, I don't see any other option.

Assumed correctly, the HOA recommends taking the risk of a possible fine, says it's unlikely they'll catch the violation

I've done a lot of them. There are setbacks by local ordinance and there are setbacks in Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions that can be waived by the Homeowners' Association. If the proposed garage violates the ordinance setback, it's not the HOA's option to approved the variance, it has to be approved by the local agency through whatever process they have in place and since the HOA's setbacks are generally more restrictive, they would also have to approve the site plan.

I just checked the current fee schedule for Sacramento County and their application fee for a simple variance is $5,969.00. This is not like just paying for a permit though. It's up to the Planning Staff to review the request, make a recommendation to the Zoning Administrator to approve or deny it, hold a hearing for public input and maybe you'll get it, maybe not.

A finding has to be made by the ZA that there are special circumstances affecting the subject property justifying the variance. Otherwise, just granting it because you want more room would create a precedent so they couldn't really deny everybody else a variance for the proposed purpose. Regardless of the outcome of the hearing, you don't usually get any of your $5,969.00 back, although I have seen small refunds issued if you can see the process going down the tubes and withdraw the application.

That's just the way it works around here. I suppose in more reasonable areas of the country, it could be easier and cheaper.

Ick, no re-plat desired, too expensive ...

Man some of you guys have some sure different ways about getting a variance!!

".......the HOA recommends taking the risk of a possible fine....."

Wow, I'd sure think twice about THAT!

Easy for them to say......but what are the risks, a) to your client, and b) to yourself?

I agree. Quite a learning experience here

If the setbacks required by the HOA are greater than the setbacks required by zoning and the subdivision plat, and the proposed structure will only violate the HOA setbacks, then they might have a point about not going through the county. Otherwise I can think of better ways to get myself in trouble.

Variance process - the list

The list

1. Completeness Review
Initially, the applicant will submit a single packet to Martin County’s Growth Management Department (GMD), along with a check made payable to the Martin County BCC in the appropriate amount, per the Development Review Fee Schedule. On the next Monday* following the packet submittal, the Completeness Review Team will confirm that each item on the checklist has been submitted in the required format, as outlined in the checklist. For instance, all documents requiring a signature and a seal will be confirmed and the site plan standards must all be included on the site plan. Also, the digital files submitted must follow the standards as outlined in the Application Instructions under Digital File Standards. In addition, a Project Coordinator (PC) will be assigned to the project. The PC is the primary contact person for the applicant.
At the conclusion of the completeness review meeting, the applicant will receive formal notification from the County indicating the packet is either sufficient or insufficient. If the packet is found to be sufficient, the letter will include the correct application type and the associated fees. The completeness packet should be picked up by the applicant within two weeks of the date of the letter. This packet can be resubmitted as part of the application full submittal. The applicant can then submit the full set of packets, based on the information found in the associated application checklist.
In the event that it is found insufficient, the letter will contain specific directions on what needs to be corrected and/or the items that were missing from the packet. Also, if the packet is found insufficient, the applicant can pick up the packet, correct the issues and resubmit the corrected packet to GMD with an additional check made payable to the Martin County BCC in the appropriate amount, per the Development Review Fee Schedule.
* When Monday is a holiday, the meeting will be held on Tuesday of the holiday week.
2. Full Packet Submittal
Once the Completeness Review Team has determined that the packet is sufficient, the applicant may submit the full set of packets to GMD with the appropriate fees. Be certain that each packet is a duplicate of the original packet including all signatures, seals and plans, as each packet is distributed to various departments and agencies throughout the County. The PC will review the packets and prepare them for transmittal.
3. Staff Review
Depending upon the application type, staff will have a specific amount of time to review the application. During the review, each reviewer will either find the submittal as a Comply or Non-comply for his/her area of review. The applicant can follow the progress of the review from our On-line Project System using the Project Number (format: A###-###), which can be found on the Completeness letter.
4. Staff Report
Upon completion of the staff review, a staff report will be generated. The staff report will identify each component of the review. For any non-comply, the reviewer will provide specific information in the staff report regarding the issues. The staff report will be mailed to the applicant.
5. Joint Meeting
In the event of a non-comply, a joint meeting will be scheduled to provide an opportunity for the applicant to hear directly from all reviewers regarding the issue(s) and/or concern(s). A letter will accompany the staff report, which will have the date and time of the joint meeting.
6. Re-submittal
Please note that piecemeal submittals will not be accepted. Re-submittals are to be a complete response to a staff report, and the materials are to be packaged as if being submitted for the first time, i.e., see Section 2, Full Packet Submittal, above, and include any additional fee payment for an elective resubmittal.
All submittals of application materials and information must be through GMD, even though solutions may have been worked out with individual staff reviewers. Those solutions must be documented and submitted through GMD for coordinated review and sign-off by all of the reviewers.
If the staff report generates a non-comply, the applicant will have 90 days from the date of the staff report to resubmit the revised full set of packets to GMD. The applicant can submit a written letter to GMD requesting a one-time 60 day extension.
6.1 Elective Resubmittals
Some application types allow for more than one resubmittal. See the LDR for details. Also, if the issue(s) discovered during the review is minor in nature, the applicant may be allowed an additional submittal. In addition, if the review reveals a new issue that was not discovered during a prior review, the applicant may also be allowed an additional re-submittal. The applicant can elect to submit an additional resubmittal with the associated fee.
7. Development Order Issued
Some applications require a meeting with the Local Planning Agency (LPA) and approval by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). Other applications require approval by the County Administrator or his/her designee. See Section 10.1.D of the LDR. After approval by the appropriate authority, a development order will be issued.
From the date the development order is issued for a final site plan application, the applicant has one year to obtain building permits and two years to obtain a certificate of occupancy.
8. Extensions
A development order can be extended along with the reservation of capacity. See Section 10.14 of the LDR.
9. Post Approval Submittal
When the development order is issued, the applicant will receive a letter informing him/her of the specific documents and/or fees that must be submitted for post approval. The applicant will have 60 days to submit all post approval documents and fees to GMD. An applicant can submit a letter to GMD to obtain two 60 day time extensions for submittal of the post approval documents; however, appropriate fees must be paid by the original 60 day timeframe.
10. Constructing the Infrastructure
10.1 Scheduling the Pre-Construction Meeting
For all final applications, revised final applications and some administrative amendments, a pre-construction meeting will be held. Prior to scheduling this meeting, the Engineer of Record must complete the Contact Information form and submit it to Martin County's Engineering Department. This form must be provided to the Martin County Engineering Department either via regular mail or email at least three (3) business days PRIOR to the scheduled pre-construction meeting.
10.2 Pre-Construction Meeting Details
At the pre-construction meeting, representatives from the owner/developer's team, Martin County staff and other agencies meet to discuss the project. Additionally, the approved plans are distributed. One set of the stamped, approved plans and the laminated site preparation permit must be kept on-site at all times.
10.3 Inspections
Once the work begins, staff from Martin County will continually monitor the site. If any issues arise, the Engineer of Record will be notified so that they can be resolved as quickly as possible. Once the roads have been stabilized, the drainage outflow and fire protection is in place, the Engineer of Record contacts the Engineering Department for an inspection. If the site passes this inspection, building permits may be issued. Prior to the Certificate of Occupancy being issued, inspections must be scheduled and completed. Infrastructure inspections are scheduled by the Engineer of Record, and subsequently completed by the Engineering Department, Environmental Division and/or Utilities and Solid Waste Department. The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Coordinator may also need to perform an inspection depending upon the type of development.
11. Surety
The Engineering Department may require surety for completion of required improvements and maintenance. Sureties may be required by the Utilities Department and the Growth Management Department, Environmental Division, following the construction of the infrastructure. Acceptable forms of surety include bonds, letters of credit, loans in process, certificates of deposit and checks.

Macheteman,

Regardless of what the HOA, developer, etc. says, you still have to “jump through the hoops” with the governing municipality. If the variance is approved then your liability is diminished providing, of course, your survey is accurate. It’s basically called “covering your ass”.

You should contact the governing agency and they will provide you with documentation as how to apply for a variance. In Florida the process takes about six weeks, or longer. It is a real pain in the rear and you will probably be required to attend the variance committee public hearing to explain why the variance is necessary.

Again this is Florida; the procedure may be different in other States.

Hope this helps, and have a great week! 🙂

Understood. We're trying to do it thru the appropriate channels. I'm still unclear as to why the HOA recommended not to go thru the variance process. Did they think it would take unnecessarily longer? I'm still in the process of obtaining information on it.

What I do know is that the fine is twice the cost of the permit application, for whatever that's worth ...

> Understood. We're trying to do it thru the appropriate channels. I'm still unclear as to why the HOA recommended not to go thru the variance process. Did they think it would take unnecessarily longer? I'm still in the process of obtaining information on it.
>
> What I do know is that the fine is twice the cost of the permit application, for whatever that's worth ...

Because HOA's are evil little fiefdoms that are run by people who think too much of themselves. They view their role as a demi-god in their subdivision and many times rule with an iron fist.

I never miss a chance to cram something up a HOA's rectum with extreme prejudice.

Tell your client to go through the city/county/state and ask for the variance to the setback. To do otherwise would be to provide advice that would circumvent the process of planned development and could leave you liable at a board level.

To hell with HOA's!

Refer the HOA to someone who handles variances for a living.