Board of Adjustment grants variance to allow two-lot division where right-of-way reduced gross acreage

The Newberry Board of Adjustment granted a variance on July 28, 2025, allowing a parcel in the city’s Agricultural zoning district to be divided despite the net lot area falling just below the 5-acre minimum because public right-of-way absorption reduced the parcel’s net acreage.

Stacy Hechtus of the community development department explained staff’s recommendation: the parcel (parcel number 04266-006-000, owner/petitioner Nathan Meth) has a historic parent parcel meeting gross-area thresholds, but public right-of-way (an 80-foot road) reduced net area to approximately 4.7 acres. Staff and the planning and zoning board recommended granting a variance so the owner could proceed with a one-time permitted split. Hechtus said the request satisfies the city’s variance criteria in the land-development regulations and is consistent with the comprehensive plan.

The board followed a quasi-judicial procedure, allowed questions of staff and, with a motion by Board Member Long and a second by Board Member Clark, approved the variance unanimously. Staff said the land-development-code rewrite aims to provide administrative handling for similar minor right-of-way reductions in the future, to avoid recurrent quasi-judicial hearings for small net-area shortfalls.

Why it matters: The variance allows a landowner to split a parcel into two lots where a public right-of-way reduced the calculated net acreage below the minimum; staff signaled a future code change to streamline similar cases.

Next steps: The petitioner will proceed with the split under the variance conditions; staff will include an administrative fix in the land-development-code rewrite to address recurring right-of-way netting issues.