Reply to Massive home addition causes confusion in Fairfax County neighborhood

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The county reviews plans when approving building permits. It is not responsible for validating that a homeowner’s plans are accurate. The county is not responsible for conducting a survey to confirm the plans. If the plans showed the addition being built with the appropriate 8ft setback, then the county has no liability.

If the plans showed the error (eg less than 8ft setback) and the county still approved the plans, then sure the county would have some culpability in the situation.

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The issue isn't liability. The issue is where this would fall under the "self-inflicted hardship" precedent. Working off of an approved plan, [b]even when that plan included an error from homeowner[/b], meaningfully changes that.

Does it change it enough? I don't know. And we probably won't find out because I highly doubt the homeowner here will seek a variance instead of a special permit.

If you're the homeowner, or a neighbor thinking about bringing a lawsuit, you're definitely going to want to talk to a lawyer about your realistic chance of success for different options. Some of the information coming up here is very incomplete, apparently being filtered based on their own desires for this case.[/quote]

Public records show that the application did not include the setback error. The plans the county approved show a 8.5 foot setback. According to publicly available information, it appears that the homeowner did create the setback error himself, which would be a reason to deny a variance.

A number of people posting here have stated that this is a variance issue, not a special permit issue. Why do you think otherwise?
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Yes, I'm saying the plan as submitted included the error-- the incorrect measurement, rather than the plan being approved in error. No one seems to disagree on that.[/quote]

The plan as submitted did not include the error, according to public documents. The plan noted what should have been the correct measurement, but the homeowner allowed a foundation to be poured that went past the required setback. The homeowner is responsible for the error here, not the county.

The county has the expectation that a homeowner will follow the plans that they submit to the zoning department. This homeowner did not follow the plans he submitted, so the county cannot have any responsibility for an error that the homeowner made. 
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