Reply to Massive home addition causes confusion in Fairfax County neighborhood

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[quote=Anonymous]Let’s assume the homeowner decides to seek relief through the Special Permit process. I am curious how they craft their Statement of Justification with regards to some of the critical points the BZA is to consider

[b][i]A Statement of Justification should be provided for all special permit uses which must satisfy the following general standards pursuant to subsection 4102.1.F(2) of the Zoning Ordinance in order for the Board of Zoning Appeals to approve the application.

b) The proposed use must be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning district where it is to be located.[/i][/b]

In its current form (setback violation notwithstanding), the project likely does not meet the zoning standards on the basis of off-street parking, given the homeowner deviated from the permitted plans by eliminating the one car garage. And while it is separate from the application, as there is public debate, it will also come up that the homeowner had an unpermitted garage conversion, as well as an unpermitted extension of the driveway as one can see in historical imagery. People on the BZA are human and may be influenced in some way whether they should or should not be.

Is the homeowner in a Catch-22 here in the sense that they would need to change the existing construction but are unable to do so because they need relief of the setback issue, which itself is complicated by the fact that they need to have the project in compliance in all other forms except for the setback, but cannot do construction on the property until the setback issue is solved?

[b][i]c) The proposed use, including its design and operational characteristics, must not adversely affect the use or future development of neighboring properties and must be in accordance with the applicable zoning district regulations. The location, size and height of buildings, structures, walls, and fences, as well as the nature and extent of screening, buffering and landscaping cannot hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use, or impair the value of, adjacent or nearby land or buildings.[/i][/b]

This was not considered in the original permit because everything was being done “by right”. That standard changes now due to seeking a special permit and the public now having the ability to weigh in and have the impact upon them considered. The neighbor can show impairment from the loss of power production from their solar panels, and perhaps any landscaping impacts due to the loss of direct sunlight due to the size and position of the addition. The size of the addition now matters insofar as it does have impacts on neighbors.

[b][i]e) Adequate utility, drainage, and other necessary facilities to serve the proposed use must be provided.[/i]
[/b]
As the homeowner self certified the construction addition would result in ground disturbance of under 2,500sq feet, they did not need to undertake any sort of drainage or stormwater analysis. Now that they find themselves here, they will need to. What if they find that that there are potential issues with the design as it relates to drainage that now need to be mitigated, if they could be even mitigated at all? Suppose they perform a study that is favorable, but the next-door neighbor commissions one that raises issues, how should the applicant seek to dismiss concerns over conflicting studies? The board will have to account for new information like this. Suppose there are facts about the design that should require additional stormwater work, how do they manage those in the sense of permits or perhaps needing to seek even more relief because things like extended gutters may cause further encroachment into the setback area.
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