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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-03-02 BOA MINUTESMINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT CITY OF APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA 1001 NORTH IDAHO ROAD APACHE JUNCTION,ARIZONA MARCH 2,1981 7:00 P.M. In Attendance Joe Jessamine,Chairman Don Nesser,Vice Chairman Bill Furness Pete Nunn Harvey Morrison Chuck Newcomer,Acting Executive Secretary Kathy Connelly,Recording Secretary Absent Bill Vaughn (illness in family) Guests Dale Burfiend Anna &Derald Bolin Melvin &Vera Taig Stanley Baker Marjorie 8(William Duxbury Bertha Doolittle Norm Baker Marguerite Voller Mary Lou Voller 1.Chairman opened the meeting at 7:05 P.M.and requested the Executive Secretary call the roll. 2.Mr.Newcomer 3.Chairman 4.FurnessINesser 5.Chairman 6.Mr.Newcomer 7.Chairman 8.Mr.Duxbury determined five members present as indicated above. announced that a quorum was present and informed the Board members that the first item on the agenda was consideration of the "Minutes"of February 2, 1981. He requested that the members review the "Minutes" one more time before making z motion. M/S "BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Adjustment UT—the City of Apache Junction,Arizona,that the "Minutes"of the meeting of February 2,1981 be approved as written." The motion passed 4-0-1 with Mr.Nunn voting "present"since he had not attended the meeting in question. announced that the next item on the agenda was the public hearing on case BA -2-81,a variance application submitted by William and Marjorie Duxbury. located the parcel in question on the map and ex- plained that the applicant was seeking a variance to place a second mobile home in an area zoned General Rural (GR).He further explained that the applicant had purchased the lots separately as part of an illegal lot split. He referred the members to Section 2309 of the Zoning Ordinance which referred to "lots of record" or those lots which were split prior to enactment of the Zoning Ordinance.He added that the lot split occurred in 1976,after Pinal County had adopted the current Zoning Ordinance. requested that Mr.Newcomer read Section 2309 aloud, and then called on the applicant to present his case. explained that his property (located at the inter- section of N.Starr Road and E.Cody Street)had been purchased with the understanding that he could have a dwelling on each of the lots.He added that he had started to purchase the land in 1972 and had finished paying for i t in 1976. He pointed out that Pinal County had been taxing him on each parcel and had never informed him that it was an illegal split. 9.Chairman asked from whom he had purchased the property. Page 2 -Board of Adjustment Minutes of March 2,1981 10.Mr.Duxbury 11.Chairman 12.Mr.Duxbury 13.Chairman 14.Mr.Duxbury 15..Mr.Furness 16.Mr.Duxbury 17.Mr.Nunn 18.Mr.Duxbury 19.Mr_ Furness 20.Mr.Duxbury 21,Mr,Newcomer 22.Mr.Morrison 23.Mr.Newcomer 24.Mr.Nunn 25.Mr.Newcomer 26.Mr.Nunn 27.Mr.Duxbury explained that he had bought the land from Mrs. Doolittle and her sister. asked him if he was aware at that time that lot splits were not legal. replied that everyone was doing i t and that other land in the area had been split the same way. asked when the contract was first signed. replied that he started paying for the land in 1971, but that the contract was not completed until 1976. asked i f any of the adjoining 14 acre parcels had also been lot splits. replied that there were several others in the area. asked i f he was aware that he was purchasing a split lot. replied that he was aware of i t and that the County had been taxing him on each of the parcels. asked if the lot split had been recorded. pointed out that they had been given copies of the deeds in the packets. explained that it was the responsibility of the County Planning and Zoning Commission to enforce the zoning regulations and not the County Assessor. stated that he did not feel that Mr.Duxbury should be penalized now for something that should have been cleared up years ago,especially since he had been paying taxes on both parcels for all the years. added that several other parcels in the area had also been split into lots of .625 acres each.He pointed out that any of these which had occured after 1974 were considered to be illegal. asked how many of these lots had homes on them, explained that there were mobile homes located to both the north and to the south. questioned whether or not the Board would have the right to deny Mr.Duxbury his rights since others had set the precedent even though it was illegally done. He asked Mr.Duxbury i f the unit on the second parcel would be a rental or a residence. explained that he was going to put a double -wide mobile home on the one parcel and use the other mobile for guests. He added that he had not been aware of the illegal lot split until last Spring when he was issued a citation by the City Building Official. Page 3 -Board of Adjustment Minutes of March 2,1981 28.Chairman 29.Mr.Duxbury explained that i f a non -conforming use had been established for the property prior to adoption of the Zoning Ordinance,the property must be used for that same purpose within a twelve-month period or the use would no longer be considered valid. explained that he thought he would come under the "grandfather"rights.He added that he did not know otherwise until the past Spring. 30.Chairman asked i f there was anyone who would like to speak either for or against the variance request. 31.Mrs.Bolin 32.Mr.Baker 33,Mrs.Taig 34.Chairman 35.Mr.Newcomer 36.Chairman stated that Mr.Duxbury should be permitted to use his property in the same way as everyone else and that his second mobile home would not be located very near to the neighboring properties. explained that many lots were already split and that more would have to be split in order for there to be progress.He added that it would be better to have a structure on the lot rather than brush and trees,and that allowing the variance would be of benefit to the community. stated that even though her lot had not been split, she saw no reason not to allow Mr.Duxbury to use the second 5/8 acre for another dwelling.She added that i t seemed the sensible thing to do since i t conformed with the rest of the area. called for other questions or comments.There being none,he called for a recommendation from the staff. pointed out that the Zoning Administrator had issued a memo on the variance which stated that the lots had been split in violation of the County Zoning Ordinance and that the granting of the application was not within the powers of the Board. at the request of the Board members,closed the public hearing for five minutes in order to allow discussion of the application. 37.Mr.Nesser stated that he considered the case viable since there was hardship involved. 38.Mr.Nunn 39.Chairman 40.Mr.Nunn 41.Mr.Newcomer 42.Mr.Nunn agreed that the Board should not deny the application since he had purchased the property in good faith and that he was not responsible for the County's failure to enforce the Zoning Ordinance. agreed that Mr.Duxbury was a victim of circum- stances and that it was not his fault that the property had been recorded without providing him the full infor- mation as to the regulations. asked i f there were separate deeds on the property. explained that there were separate deeds with one mobile home already on the property. suggested that they allow the variance but with the restriction that i f ever sold,it must be sold as one lot and under one deed. Page 4 -Board of Adjustment Minutes of March 2,1981 43.Chairman 44.Mr.Newcomer 45.Mr.Morrison 46.Mr.Nunn stated that he did not know i f the Board could set such a restriction. added that the Board could set the condition that the split would be removed and the lot rejoined i f sold. pointed out that he had been paying taxes on two lots and that it would not be fair to rejoin the lots now. pointed out that taxes would be lower on one piece of property. 47.Mr.Furness stated that imposing restrictions would be too much of a handicap since everyone else in the area was doing the same thing. 48.Chairman called the meeting back to order and called for a recommendation. 49.Nesser/Morrison 50.Mr.Nesser M/S "BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Adjustment of th -e-City of Apache Junction,Arizona,in the case of BA -2-81,an appeal submitted by William J.and Mar- jorie Duxbury,for the property described as: Northwest 1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 of the South- west 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 22,Township 1 North,Range 8 East,Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian,located in Apache Junction,Pinal County,Arizona. The Board hereby grants the requested variance for use as a residential property,based on the following: 1.The property in question does not meet the minimum lot area requirements of 14 acres for the zoning classification of General Rural (GR)according to Article 8,Section 805. 2.The property was purchased,as is,by the applicant for use as a residential site. 3.The owner finds that the purchased property may not be used for any purpose under the strict application of the Zoning Ordinance. 4.The Board hereby declares that a hardship does exist and a variance is granted under the pro- visions of Article 24,Section 2403,subsections d and 1 of the Land Development Code,City of Apache Junction,Arizona. 5.The provisions of Article 8,Sections 806 through 810,will be observed regarding the dwelling place- ment and other accessories.The provisions of Article 8,Section 801,subsections b through h, are not conveyed in this variance." The motion passed 5-0. added that he appreciated what the Zoning Administrator was trying to do,but it would not be fair to tell a person that they could not use their property when it was purchased in good faith. 51.Chairman called for other comments. 52.Mr.Newcomer pointed out that they were each going to receive a copy of the Board "Order"which was the condensed version of the actions taken by the Board on a particular case.He added that note books had been ordered to keep this information in. i / Page 5 -Board of Adjustment Minutes of March 2,1981 53.Chairman Respectfully submitted, called for other business or comments.There being none,he called for any objections to the meeting being adjourned. There being no objections,he adjourned the meeting at 7:55 P.M. digkze,/74,/ Charles R.Newcomer Acting Executive Secretary Approved: / amine,Chairman