Long-standing variances don’t necessarily green-light new projects
Question & Answer
Q: My wife and I want to put a roof over our existing deck, and then make the existing deck a little bigger.
Do we need a building permit?
A: Yes, permits are required for this.
Q: Why? We received an Area Variance back in the 1990’s to build the deck at about 20 feet off the side property line.
The new part will still be 20 feet off the side line and putting the roof on will not make it closer either.
And besides, we were told the Variance is good forever and does not expire, so why do we need a permit?
A: It is true that once an Area Variance is granted by the Board of Appeals it is good forever, unless it was conditioned otherwise in the approval.
This is commonly called “running with the deed or land.”
The approval of an Area Variance does not substitute the need of the building permit. The approval of the Variance allows the Code Officer to issue a permit for something that was otherwise prohibited, thus the term “Variance.”
Q: Okay, so we need to get a building permit for the roof over this deck. What material or information do you need to issue us the permit?
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