Zoning variance glossary

30 terms

Variance

Written permission to build something the zoning code doesn't allow by right on your lot: a taller fence, a bigger shed, a deck closer to the road. It applies to your lot only and does not change the rule for anyone else.

Area variance

A variance from a number: height, size, setback, lot coverage, slope. Almost every homeowner request is an area variance. In Ohio it is judged on the practical-difficulty standard.

Use variance

Permission to use land for something the district doesn't allow at all, like a business in a house. Judged on the stricter unnecessary-hardship standard, and rarely granted.

Practical difficulty

Ohio's test for an area variance. The Supreme Court said an owner has one "whenever an area zoning requirement (e.g., frontage, setback, height) unreasonably deprives him of a permitted use of his property" (Duncan v. Village of Middlefield, 1986).

Unnecessary hardship

The harder test, for use variances. Brecksville's code, for example, requires "clear and convincing evidence" that the property can't be put to any economically viable permitted use, among other things (Section 1197.10).

Duncan factors

The seven things an Ohio board weighs when deciding practical difficulty, from Duncan v. Village of Middlefield: reasonable return, how substantial the variance is, effect on the neighborhood, effect on city services, whether you bought knowing the rule, whether there is another fix, and the spirit of the rule.

Zoning code (zoning ordinance)

The city's rulebook for what can be built where. Organized in numbered chapters and sections; your application will cite one, like "Section 1185.03(a)."

Zoning district

A zone on the city's map with its own set of rules. Brecksville's residential districts run from R-8A to R-60; shed size limits, for instance, depend on which one you are in.

Setback

The minimum distance a building must sit from a lot line or the street. A "front setback of 125 feet" means nothing goes closer than 125 feet to that road. The line drawn across the lot at that distance is the building line; Brecksville fences may not extend into the front yard past it.

Front, side and rear yard

The open parts of the lot between the house and each lot line. Many rules say what goes in which yard: fences behind the front wall of the house, sheds in the rear yard.

Lot coverage

How much of the lot may be covered by buildings, usually a percentage. A big addition or garage can bump into this even when it clears the setbacks.

Accessory structure (accessory building, accessory use)

Anything on the lot that isn't the house: shed, detached garage, pool house, gazebo, generator, hot tub. Codes give these their own sizes, heights and yards.

Nonconforming

Something that was legal when built but doesn't meet today's code, like a house that now sits inside the setback. You can usually keep it, but changing or adding to it often needs a variance.

Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)

The appointed board that hears variance requests and appeals of the building department's decisions. Ohio law lets a city create one (ORC 713.11). Some cities' boards decide; others, like Brecksville's, recommend to City Council.

Zoning appeal

The formal name for your case in front of the board, whether it is an appeal of a decision or a request for a variance. Brecksville numbers them like BZA26-000011.

Public hearing

The part of the meeting where your request is read out, you explain it, neighbors may speak, and the board asks questions. Notice of it is published and mailed to neighbors ahead of time.

Notice

The letter and published announcement telling neighbors about your hearing. Brecksville mails it to adjacent owners, owners across the street, and at least five neighboring properties (Section 1197.22).

Motion carried / motion failed

A motion is a member's formal proposal to approve or deny your request, with the section and the numbers read out. Carried means it passed; failed means it didn't. A failed motion to approve is a denial.

Roll call

A vote taken by calling each member's name and recording aye or nay. The minutes list who voted which way.

Quorum and required votes

The minimum number of members who must be present, and the minimum number of yes votes to decide. Brecksville requires at least four ayes for any decision, so a 3–2 vote with two members absent fails.

Tabled

Set aside without a vote, usually because something is missing or nobody showed up. It can be taken up again at a later meeting.

Continued

Pushed to a later meeting, often at the applicant's request or so the board can see revised drawings.

Conditions of approval

Strings attached to a yes: plant screening around the generator, keep the gate at 5 feet, submit the final drawing to the building department. They are part of the variance.

Site plan

A drawing of your lot from above, to scale, showing the lot lines, the house, the driveway, and what you want to build with its distances to the lines. Every application needs one.

Plat

The recorded map of a subdivision showing each lot's lines, dimensions and easements. Your lot's plat is on file with the county and is a good base for the site plan.

PPN (parcel number)

Permanent Parcel Number, the county's ID for your lot, written like 604-22-009. It goes on the application and in the board's motion.

Right-of-way

The strip of land the public owns or controls for the road, usually wider than the pavement. You can't build in it, and setbacks are often measured from its edge, not the curb.

Easement

Someone else's right to use part of your lot, most often a utility's. Building over one can be prohibited even when zoning allows it.

Building permit

The permit to actually construct. A variance doesn't replace it; it lets you apply for it. In Brecksville the fence permit and the accessory-structure permit are separate steps with their own fees.

Minutes

The written record of the meeting: who asked for what, what was said, the motion, and the roll call. Public, and the best guide to what your board has already decided.