The Baileyton Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday granted a variance for setback requirements for a garage on Bailey Street.

Sarah Stevens told the BZA that when she and her husband applied for a building permit for what she called a 22-by-28 tin "out building," she was told that the location they wanted did not meet setback requirements.

Stevens said she and her husband wanted to put the building five feet from the property line on the side, and eight feet from the rear property line.

The Stevens property adjoins Baileyton United Methodist Church property at the rear and an Embarq telephone facility at the side. "Neither one is going anywhere," she said.

After the church is rebuilt, Stevens said she and her husband plan to put up a privacy fence.

Anderson said the town's zoning rules call for structures to be "set back" 25 feet from the rear property line, and 20 feet from the side.

The variance required on the side would thus be 12 feet and 20 feet at the rear.

Anderson said zoning rules allow variances for unusual lot sizes or shapes, or topography, but he did not think any of those situations exist. For that reason, Anderson said he would have to recommend against granting the variance request.

Stevens said she does not believe the building will be a problem to either neighbor, and "we don't want it sitting in the middle of the back yard."

Kilday said he could see Stevens' point, because the lot is a corner lot. He asked Anderson if the planning commission can grant a variance despite his recommendation.

When Anderson indicated that the planning commission has that option, Kilday made a motion to grant the request, "due to the circumstances."
Mayor Tommy Casteel said he believed the request is justified. "It's not like they want to put it right next to somebody's house."

Previously, the Baileyton Planning Commission, which has the same membership as the BZA, met.

Charles Anderson, Baileyton's state-contract planner, presented to the Planning Commission his annual report for the fiscal year that ends June 30, and went over the town's plans for next year.

Anderson said Baileyton had "no issues" that required work on strategic planning over the past year. He said the town's subdivision regulations, last revised in 2004, and its zoning regulations, updated in 2007, are essentially "up to date."

In the past nine meetings, he said, the town's planning commission approved one rezoning request, two site plans, and three minor subdivision plats.

The town is now in the process of updating its digitized map.

Next year, he said, no work on long-range planning is scheduled. Anderson said he plans to gather information next year that will be needed for updates to the town's land use and transportation plans the following year.

The town will also undertake a revision to bring subdivision regulations in line with any new changes in state law.