The land on which we are going to build is considered a “substandard, irregular lot” (both in overall size and dimension) for a single family residence (SFR) in our beloved city. We sit on a 31′ wide, 80′ deep rectangular plot yielding approximately 2,486 square feet in total area. The typical minimum lot size for a new residential build is 5,000 square feet with a minimum of 50′ in width and 100′ in depth. Lucky for us, (dripping sarcasm) our lot is also zoned R3-A, which means that it is not in a typical residential zone. R3-A is defined as a Low Density Multi-Family Residential zone. Not that this lot is anywhere big enough to create a multi-family unit of any type, but that’s what we have to work with. I know what you are thinking. “Bla, Bla-bidy, Bla…” It’s a bunch of industry jargon. But I need to set the stage for what I really want to discuss today. And that is the painstaking process we went through to get variance approvals from the Planning Commission.
3 to be exact:
- Reduced setbacks on the sides and rear of our property.
- Reduced calculated outdoor space.
- Reduced front driveway dimension.
- Oh, and I’m sorry, two more things… how could I forget the ‘Consideration of a Coastal Development Permit’ AND an ‘Exemption Declaration’ to allow us to actually build our tiny little house in an R-3A zone if the variances were to be granted. Huh?
I sound like a whiny complainer. Well, I kind of am. We knew from the get-go before the property was purchased that when we were ready to go through the city approval process, we would encounter a formidable list of hurdles. We bought the place anyway, (knowing we would tear down someday) because of the location and quite frankly, our youthful arrogance/ignorance that since we were going to oversee everything ourselves and since between the two of us, being a designer and builder by profession, it would be… for a lack of a better word, easy? We figured we’d both done a fair amount of variance related projects in the past so how bad could it be? Right?
WRONG!
Since the time we purchased our current home on this “substandard” piece of land until today, it has been just shy of 10 years. A DECADE people! Needless to say, the economy as well as life happened in the span of 10 years which is why it has taken us this long to be where we are now. We got married, experienced family loss, had two children, experienced the high of the good times as well as burned through our savings during the recessions. Just to name a few… And in this time, the City adopted new regulations and more stringent guidelines of what they wanted in terms of submittal materials. Gone are the days of over-the-counter approvals where you could go into the City with a scribble on a cocktail napkin and they would stamp an approval for you to build your dream home. (ok, so that never happened…) But seriously, the check-list they have now just to submit to the planning commission which comes before a single shred of paper is submitted to the building department, is 3 pages long. No joke.
Therefore, if you have the need for variances, be prepared for a solid 4 to 6 months to go through the Planning Department. Longer if like us, you find yourself in a Coastal Development Zone. It took us approximately 8 months from the first submittal date until the day we received our letter of approval from the Planning Department giving us the green flag to submit to the Building Department, which I keep hearing will be another 5 to 7 month process from start to finish. Ugh.
In the end, everything panned out positively for us. I attribute our success to the fact that we worked very closely and created a very positive working relationship with the Planning Department from the very early stages of our design process. There was also a house that paved the way and set a precedent for us because they asked for and were granted very similar variances to ours a few houses down on our street. The Planning Department head and our Planner both pulled hard in our favor during our variance meeting in front the the Planning Commissioners. The report that they wrote for us was overwhelmingly positive and supported all the reasons why we were asking for what we needed and how we met every other item on their checklist.
A few final notes on Variances:
- Filing for Variances is not cheap. Our Variances costs added up to the following: Pre-application Fee – $636, Variance Submittal – $2,226, Coastal Development Permit Fee – $1,353. That put us at a little over $4,200.00 just to see if the building could be built the way it was proposed.
- There is no guarantee that your variances will be granted. Which is why it’s important to work closely with your Planner and take their advice on things you can tweak in your design. You give some, you get some in return, or hopefully you get it all. There is an appeal process in place but it’s expensive too…
- Variances are granted out of necessity. If you don’t have a legit reasoning or can’t find a precedent that was set by a previous project supporting your design changes which deviate from the given Code in your jurisdiction, don’t go asking for them. Chances are, you are wasting your time and money.
- Talk to your local Planning Commissioners before your meeting. Get to know them by inviting them to grab a coffee. Tell them about your project (bring a kid or 2 to show them how much you need this for your “growing family”) so that when you are standing up at the podium stating your case, you know they are on your side, or they are at least familiar with your issues. It’s amazing what a little personal face time can yield in your favor.
Good Luck on filing those Variances!
-K
