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Read comments (9)County Commissioner and Bedford County Planning Commission member Linda Yockey appeared before the zoning appeals board on behalf of her constituent, Bert Cathey, whom she said could not attend due to his wife's poor health. Cathey, whom Yockey said is in his 80s, had placed a storage building and began building a carport on his property on Gaither Road, without realizing that building and zoning permits were required.
The county's policy is that zoning permits obtained after the fact cost more. That would double the $25 zoning permit cost for the storage building and the $50 cost for the carport. The total cost, including both building and zoning permit fees, would be $360.
Board members said they were sympathetic to Cathey's plight but that there was no legal reason to make an exception. The penalty, said board chairman Whit Lee, was originally intended to keep professional developers from taking advantage of the county by pleading ignorance. But if it's enforced for one property owner or developer, they said, it must be enforced for all.
"I don't think we have any choice," said member Kennon Threet.
* The board approved a special exception in an A-1 (agriculture) zone from Nancy Barton for a dry marina at 345 Huffman Road. A dry marina is a facility at which boats are stored on dry land. A "special exception" is a use that is allowed in a particular zone, but only with the specific permission of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
* The board approved a special exception for a guest house for Ruth LaLonde at 207 Gant Road. The county zoning regulations are designed to allow only one principal structure, such as a home, on a given legal lot.
A stand-alone guest house can be allowed as a special exception provided that it is treated as an extension of the home -- used for guests, family members or special occasions -- and not as rental property. If a landowner were to place a rental home on his property, he would have to subdivide so that the original home and the new home were on separately-deeded lots, with each building meeting setback and road frontage requirements.
response to scrapbooker, hello!
Construction for 120 x 40 building had begun prior to 7-1-02
Building permit 7-1-02
Application for Special Exeception BZA, 8-5-02
BZA meeting denies Special Exception 11-14-02
"building built before permitted" stated BZA meeting minutes July and Aug 07 minutes
Building has been up for Special Exception, technically 4 times counting rescinded application before rehear Nov 07. If a building should not have been built, permit procedure not followed and the owner, who bulids houses, knows the process, why did the Zoning Office favor him and allow the building to stay. But they wont allow the elderly gentleman to do the same thing.
Duck River Electric wont provide electric permit, Zoning office does not have copy.
120 x 40 foot building with concrete floor and framed and roofed and siding in 1 month! Wow let them build my house.
KD is that you?
framptn1972,
You seem to have posted comments on several posts about a building on Big Springs Rd. that doesn't have a permit...
Care to back that up? Or maybe any of us could do what you did and go the Zoning Office and get a copy of that permit that doesn't exist?
Look at the Cabinet shop on Big Springs Rd, it was built in 02 without permit until 1 month before owner decided to apply for Special Exception. They even say on tape later it shouldn't have been built but they've allowed it for the last 6 years.
I think we need a zoning board. Let's just put someone with some common sense on it.
anyone who purchased land before this so called "zoning board" was started, has NO reason to obey
these rules...if they aren't on the deed....
enought!!!! it's our land, we paid for it...the so called zoning board, didn't pay a penny!!
lets just disolve this so called "zoning board" NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to thank L Yockey for trying to help this family. Pay close attenion to future zoning board request.
Zero tolerance = zero common sense.....BTW, you always have a choice.
To the zoning board members,
For the ones that voted not to let Mr. Cathey build his carport and storage building, shame on you !!!!!! One of these days you will be his age, the 360.00 dollars for after the fact permits is absurd and totally wrong. If your car breaks down I hope they charge you triple because you did'nt bring it in for preventive maintainence. I understand the laws are put into place for a reason. But you can't tell me you cant make an acception. If the laws were written in stone you just post them for all to read and then we would'nt need you all. All we would need would be a codes enforcer.I guess you have to have a heart in certain situations. This is certainly B.S. on the commissioners part. Every one that thinks this is wrong needs to attend the next meeting after all it is our county not theirs to tell us what we can do with our own property,this isn't Russia I don't think.
While I agree that special exceptions shouldn't be made and the drop of a hat, shame on the Board of Zoning appeals for singling out an 80 year old man as the one they're going to play hardball with. The county's policy that permits after the fact cost more is certainly discretionary, and I think Mr.Lee and Mr.Threet could exercise some influence if they chose to do so. While I don't know Mr.Cathey, I do know he comes from a time that when a man owned a piece of property in the county, he did not have to endure such bureaucracy to simply erect a carport. For Heavens sake, he's not building rental houses and condos, it's storage. Give him (and us) a break.
I agree that zoning restrictions need to be "tightened up" in Bedford County, but an elderly gentlemans' carport certainly isn't the real issue facing our zoning board. Let's see if the Board of Zoning appeals can make some of these out of town developers walk the line instead of a harmless little old man.