Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Well, it's it's 06:00. It's time to get started. This is September 2025 meeting of Blount County Board of Zoning Appeals. And as we were talking about a moment ago, before we do any thing, we usually have a public service announcement that gives you directions to get out of out of the building in case of an emergency. Obviously, from here, it's just straight out the front door, so go ahead and take care of that. Now this one was and then that one. First item on our agenda tonight would be to call roll.

Okay. Mhmm.

It's not an agenda item, anyway, first one.

Make sure we have a quorum with me.

Okay.

Larry.

Here.

Bruce.

Here.

Joe. Here. Stanley. Here. Brian King. John Rush. We have a quorum? We have a quorum.

Okay. Alright. Second is approval of minutes from the 06/26/2025 meeting.

I'll make the motion to approve as written. Second.

The motion is second. The minutes are approved.

Hold on. Hold on.

Okay.

Who made I'm sorry. Who made Mary. You. Voting for the minutes. Aye. Do Do

you need a roll call, or do you need ayes?

Aye. Aye. Aye. K.

And that's our approved.

Alright. We have one item on the agenda tonight, and I I guess it's appropriate before anyone speaks to identify that item. Cameron, would you? The variance request for 110 Ultra Way.

It's also known as Lot 35. It's actually Parks of the meeting.

Okay. Is there anybody here that would like to speak, on this item that is in favor of this variance request? Okay. Alright. Is there anyone here anyone else here that would like to speak on this? Just no. I can speak on it. Okay. I'm gonna ask you because we're all because testimony is being given in this meeting, I'm gonna ask you to rise as one and give the following affirmation. With your hands.

Do you swear or affirm that the information and answers you provide to this board tonight are true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief? Okay? Alright. Thank you. You can be seated. Okay. Who would like to speak first? Peter?

No. Do wanna stay on the podium?

Please, if you would step to the podium, there should be a place for you to put your name and address there and a pen.

Well, she's special because she's at ten. She's your name?

Leslie Wachaca. I'm actually the owner of that property. Okay. And I'm actually just wanting to say I'm hoping would be a permanent resident here in in Bloch County. I am a retired law enforcement officer, almost thirty four years. And hoping you guys approve me. I don't have I don't really know all the details. I'm leading up to these two gentlemen here who can explain, I guess, the concern. And just that's pretty much it.

Okay.

And I'm pro building my house.

Okay. Right. How's going? Yes. First, Ken.

Yes, sir.

Thank you very much for the photos.

Yes, sir.

That really, really helps.

No, sir.

You look at these contour lines, it's still hard to understand. But it looks like from the front of your house to the back of your house is gonna be 20 to 30 feet drop.

Yes.

So how many floors are in this house?

It's a main level with a walkout basement, I guess you call them. Right?

So two two floors. And and you've got the bottom floor to where you can touch the ground?

No. Okay. It's it's a basement level, but with the house being further down, like, would be if we rent off the set bath that are required, then it would be a crawl space, almost another base.

Another basement. Yeah. But by moving it forward, it helps you only have the two floors. Exactly. So your driveway that comes off of the the road, does it go down to the house, or does it go straight into the garage?

It'll drop three feet

from there.

Only three feet?

As as the request.

Okay. Part of the request.

Do you have a side view of

this? Of, like, pictures?

No. Just a drawing of the house and how it slopes and how it fits. We have a plan. But you don't

have it here? Well, it doesn't it doesn't show exactly how it is.

Okay.

Just if you if you look at that Yeah. Because if you look at those numbers, those are elevations above sea level. And if you start looking at where your front of your house is and the back of the house is, somewhere around twenty, thirty feet.

Near a house. There also is an easement or the portion that is not, I guess, not in the setback. It's only part of the garage. It's only 12 feet of the garage. The actual house is not it's just the way the garage sets. That's what's right. Is that correct, Hannah?

That sounds right. Yeah. Yeah.

So it's only if you I knew online there was a picture Mhmm. Of the house setting. But if you actually looked at that one photo, it shows you the support from the building on the garage. Mean, it's the.

Yeah. It's showing on the side plans. The entirety of the main the actual house, it needs the 30 foot setback. It's just for the garage when they're asking for a setback of 12 feet, three inches.

So the the setback you're asking for is related to the point of the garage. Mhmm. And the garage will be how far?

It'll be 12 feet three inches into the

30 foot setback. So seven feet or 17 feet seven inches from

the front, property line edge of the easement right away.

The garage to the road. Edge of the garage to the road is how far?

These are HOA guidelines? Okay. It's the HOA guideline. 40. You're say.

Oh, that's plant based. Is

this a five acre plant?

It is, but, apparently, it's all slopes, all slopes, all slopes,

Outside of the mountain?

I I guess it's a mountain.

I'm in

Florida, so this all this is I don't know if they're mountains or hills. This

is like a house that you own. Yeah.

It's pretty straight then. So that's what it is. It's just this is the only place good to be.

Do you have any objections from the neighbors?

No, sir.

I don't know where the view is, but if if you look at how that slows down, they got a view someplace. Mhmm. I don't know which way which way it's looking.

It's looking at smoke Smoky Mountains. I'm like,

You're gonna have a hell of a view.

Yes, sir. Yeah. Apparently, my neighbors are all very pleased and wanna come over when the house is built to sit on the desk. That's a really lively community already.

You may be blocking the view of the folks across the roads that are not.

He gets sunrise. I get suns oh, I get sunrise. He gets sunset.

Okay.

Yeah.

Do y'all have any more quest I I do have a question, Kim. Is this further dividable?

Oh, I don't I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.

You mean just one lot? I mean Mhmm. Really? I'm not. Yeah. Well, that's quite a lot of problem.

Not allowed to.

The other I'm sorry, ma'am.

To divide the lots for our HOA guidelines.

Oh, okay. Alright.

They wanna keep the community breathable. Understand. Everyone it's a minimum five acres, so everyone there has a lot that's that size.

Yeah. One

for sale next to me.

On the roads paid? Are the roads paid?

Yes. Yes, sir. Well,

don't know why they're doing 500.

Well, our subdivision may want people to have five acres so that the houses aren't bunched together. I don't know anything about the subdivision, but that may be

The older subdivision. This is probably one of the last lots.

This correct. There was one Mhmm. Built on in 2023 with no issues with a very similar setback. And I believe there's only one or two pieces of property left that that do not have a house on it. Not even sure if the one to my right is is buildable because of the slope and the way that piece of property is, more the triangle shape as opposed to mine, which is like a football field shape.

So some lots could be buildable, some lots not buildable?

I'm not buildable. I don't

I don't know. This is one

of the last lots left in there. Most of other lots have been built, though. Okay. This this other vision is probably 40 or 50 years old.

2,000?

Right. Is that all too? Yes.

What the I have a five acre minimum. You can limit the density Yeah. Of the houses that are in there.

Don't. Do you have anything to add, man?

No.

Okay. Gentlemen, do have any more questions? Welcome to East Tennessee.

Yeah. Thanks, sir.

Sir, do you have anything to

No. Just that the neighbor you know, there's a few houses in there that have been into the setback because of, like she said, the the steepness of some of their lots. They moved it forward close to the road. Didn't have any issues.

Gentlemen, y'all have anything else? Do I have a motion?

Jim, are there any comments the motion should include from your notes?

Oh, so reference that normal section.

11.6.

11. Yep. It's f. Yes. So Yeah. I moved the weight 50 or we granted variance based on all the criteria listed under 11.6 f. Second. Motion or second. Any roll call? The

second was.

Motion by.

First. First. Okay. K. Ready? Yep. Call roll. Larry?

Yes.

Bruce?

Yes.

Joe?

Yes.

Stanley? Yes. K. Motion passes.

Motion passes.

Thank you.

Thank you, brother. No. It's nice. Do we have any other business, gentlemen?

No special exceptions. No appeals.

We're good. I have a question. Is the training gonna is that going to take take us through '26?

Yes. Yes.

Okay. Alright. Thank you.

Well, it has to be the training you're doing is for '25. Okay. So by the end of '26, you'll have to

complete another Yeah. Okay. Okay.

We need to do those by the end of the year. Yes.

Fiscal or calendar? Physical. December. Minute. Please. 12/31/2001. I will say the first one is very interesting. It really is. I'm opposed to bound.

What'd you think? I

would. The way is different, Lawrence. This is like college. Go get your Cliffs notes.

Do you guys

See, meeting adjourned.

Meeting is adjourned.