Board of Adjustment Agenda and Packet 2012 12 19

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Sundance Subdivision. The subdivision was approved as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) under section 17.28 of the LMC. Section 17.28.110 of the LMC states the yard and bulk requirements of the underlying zone district apply unless they are specifically modified by the PUD. The Sundance PUD modified the setback requirements for the houses in the subdivision, but did not modify the lot coverage requirement. Thus the 20% maximum of the underlying RE zone district applies. The RE zone district, however, does not seem to be appropriate for the Sundance neighborhood. The minimum lot size allowed in the RE zone district is 12,000 square feet, while lot sizes in the Sundance PUD range from a minimum of approximately 4,000 square feet to a maximum of approximately 9,000 square feet. The largest lot identified by staff totaled 9,357 square feet.The entire Sundance neighborhood, and indeed a sizeable portion of the City, is inappropriately zoned. A more appropriate zone district for the Sundance neighborhood appears to be Residential Low Density (RL). The minimum lot size in RL districts is 7,000 square feet; there is no zone district in Louisville that has a minimum lot size smaller than 7,000 square feet. The maximum lot coverage allowed in RL zone districts is 30%. The setback requirements of the RL zone district are also similar to those established in the Sundance than the RE setback requirements. Zone District Minimum Lot SizeMaximum Lot Coverage RE12,000 sq ft 20% RL7,000 sq ft 30% 456 Sycamore Ct. 4,441 sq ft 25% requested These areas of the City that seem to be incorrectly zoned RE may need to be rezoned at some point. A rezoning of this magnitude, however, will be very time-consuming and will require significant support from the public and City officials.At this point, the best option for the applicant is to seek a variance instead of a rezoning. REVIEW CRITERIA: The BOA has authority to hear and decide, grant or deny this application for a variance from Section 17.12.040 of the LMC by the powers granted the BOA in Section 17.48.110 of the LMC. The BOA may grant a variance only if it makes findings that all of the criteria, as established under Section 17.48.110.B.1-6, have been satisfied, insofar as applicable: The applicant has provided a written analysis of the variance criteria, which has been included in the BOA packet materials. Following is a staff review and analysis of the variance criteria. 1. That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions such as irregularity, narrowness or shallowness of lot, or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar to the affected property. The unique physical circumstance in this case is that the lot is 7,559 square feet smaller than the minimum allowed lot size in the zone district. Generally, in the LMC, as minimum 3