City BZA approves variance requests

MARTINSVILLE — A rural Martinsville resident will be able to install an 8-foot-tall privacy fence around her home after members of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) approved a variance to install the structure on Tuesday.

The fence will be installed around a home in the 2200 block of East Country Club Road owned by Diane Selch.

Under city ordinances, privacy fences are only allowed to be 6 feet tall at their maximum height.

The variance request was initially presented to the board during its April meeting, but Martinsville Building Inspector Bob Strader said that there was an issue with proper notification for the previous meeting.

“It would be dividing her property with the adjoining neighbor,” Strader said.

Strader also noted that the terrain on Selch’s property is not level, and a 6-foot-tall fence would not provide much privacy in some areas.

BZA president Ann Marvel asked whether the fence would cause issues with traffic along East Country Club Road.

“Not at all,” Strader responded.

Board member Anna Elliott asked if any of Selch’s neighbors have expressed any objection to the fence.

Selch responded that she has not heard of any objections from her neighbors.

BZA attorney Dale Coffey said that the board needed to make three determinations before approving the variance request.

According to Coffey, those three determinations include that the fence will not do harm to the general public, the value of any adjacent property will not be adversely impacted and whether a strict application of the city’s ordinance would “result in practical difficulties in the use of the property.”

Selch told members of the board that she feels like the taller fence would look better on her property compared to the shorter structure.

Coffey also noted that one of Selch’s neighbors “is operating a use on their property which is contrary to our zoning ordinance.”

He added that the use on the neighboring property could be considered industrial.

“So, it is affecting Mrs. Selch’s ability to utilize her property and have peace and enjoyment of her property,” Coffey said, adding that the city is currently addressing the issue of the neighboring property’s use of its land.

The city, Coffey noted, is hopeful that the neighboring property will come into compliance with city zoning ordinances.

Elliott asked Selch if the neighboring property were brought into compliance, would a 6-foot fence meet her needs.

“If I had to put a 6-foot fence up, I guess that is what I would have to do,” Selch said. “I don’t want to.”

Selch said she has lived on the property for 10 years, and the neighbor in question has lived on their respective site for less than five.

Elliott asked what steps could be taken to bring the neighboring property into compliance.

Coffey responded that a proposal could be presented to the city’s plan commission to see if it would be interested in initiating legal action to enforce city zoning.

There are also private covenant and restrictions in Selch’s subdivision, and a resident of that subdivision could file a lawsuit for those covenant and restrictions to be enforced.

“I guess the answer to your question that the most likely result would have to be a lawsuit,” Coffey responded.

Ultimately, the BZA approved Selch’s request unanimously, 5-0.

In other business

• The board approved a setback variance from 10 feet to 6 feet on the north side of a parcel of land located at the intersection of Mulberry Street and Poston Road for the construction of a new home on the site.

The next meeting of the Martinsville Board of Zoning Appeals is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, June 22, in council chambers at Martinsville City Hall, 59 S. Jefferson St.

~ By Lance Gideon | Reporter | Published May 26, 2021 in The Reporter Times