The house saga continues

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
Messages
5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
Yesterday, My civil engineer and I met with the head of the planning department. The reason is that the setbacks were not what I had been led to believe. The new (to me) setbacks, had I known them last year when I bought the property, would probably have made me pass on buying it. But, the numbers I saw then indicated building a house on this lot would be possible.

And it still may be, but....

I will have to apply for a huge variance, with several parts to it. Very expensive, ~$4,000. Part of this variance is rarely granted. So here is the deal. The head of the department agreed I would need the variance to make building a house on this lot viable He also indicated that there was a fair chance I would get it. Further, he suggested that I apply and if I did not get department approval, I could withdraw it and get most of money back. If I get department approval, which my engineer says is likely, then the commission that hears these things is likely to grant it.

Crap shoot all the way.

Downside, delays things an additional 4-6 months. Upside, with my big boss, all things are possible. So as you are inclined, I solicit your support in what ever fashion you deem fit.

Back to preparing the documents.

Building a house is both a maze and an obstacle course.
 
Endeavor to persevere, Carol. Gotta hand it to you for keeping a positive attitude during all the ups and downs this project has had. Zoning and build-able area are the first things to check and you were working with bad data through no fault of your own. Maybe the planners will cut you some slack since you met with the boss and they know your circumstances. Usually a variance will require public notice and a couple of public hearings where any of the current neighbors can feed you to the dogs. Gonna be a long haul.
 
Usually a variance will require public notice and a couple of public hearings where any of the current neighbors can feed you to the dogs. Gonna be a long haul.

That is interesting. Th engineer and I had a discussion about that on the way out to the car. He told me a story about this and the department head on another 'tight' job he had. The concern was with one of the neighbors. There is one in every neighborhood! Department head said, "We don't care what the neighbors say. We do what we think is right."

Now that can go a long way on either side of that fence!

Prevailing attitude with regard to applying for the variance is to focus on the highest and best use of the property. In other words, what ultimately will bring in the largest amount of property tax for that lot with that zoning in that neighborhood? After meeting all requirements, of course. Takes all the fuzzy stuff out of the argument. In my favor is a sub-standard size lot in that neighborhood, which likewise is oddly shaped and on a slope. It is also a corner lot, requires a septic system and parking for two cars within the building envelope. After applying all those parameters, there is little available square footage to living space (which is key with the lot size to determine the property tax. We are trying to maximize the living square footage to make building the house both feasible and sensible.
 
I guess this variance thing varies a lot around the country, here my neighbor needed one and only the adjacent property owners were asked if it was OK. Since that was basically only me and I didn't care he got it in a matter of a few weeks. Regardless, I wish you the best of luck with this...I'm sure it will be more of a political process than one grounded in sanity.
 
Top