I was met w/ a flock of bobolinks in the meadow this morning. Maybe the fledglings are flying now because there was a lot of commotion. I had only seen two males this year and didn't know if the bobolinks would eventually no longer come to this area. Nice to see a whole bunch of young'uns.
First Board of Adjustment meeting this year. We only meet when someone has been turned down by County Zoning for a project but the property owner feels there are extenuating circumstances. Three board members were present so, as an alternate, I wasn't going to vote. The lot (actually two combined) is.45 acres on a lake. On the opposite side of the lots runs a road. When the current owner bought the lots. a house already existed that was only 45 feet from the high water mark - grandfathered in from before the current state shoreline setback rules of 75 feet were established. The current owner wants to add a two-story garage that will house his boat, a car, and bedrooms above - also 45 feet from the high-water mark. His reasoning is all of the neighbors have sheds/garages closer to the water than his will be. The board granted a variance. If I had voted I wouldn't have agreed. He bought the property eight years ago so was aware of setbacks when he bought the property. The issue of fairness is a problem though. How to justify giving a variance to one person but a few years later (w/ a different board makeup) not granting one to his neighbor for a similar thing. It would sound like prejudice/inequity even if none was intended. I'm thinking I'm not going to be a popular person when I do begin to vote on variances.
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