Lewes board of adjustment approves variance
A property owner in Lewes may apply for a four-lot minor subdivision on Schley Avenue following a decision from the city’s board of adjustment March 2.
The property at 119-125 Schley Ave., owned by Christine King, contains enough space for three conforming lots and one undersized lot. The undersized lot is 45.73 feet wide and 4,552 square feet, which does not meet the R-4 zone’s minimum requirements of 50-foot width and 5,000 square feet.
King sought a variance because, she said, misunderstanding of code by city officials ultimately led to the creation of the undersized lot when she sold off a piece of the original parcel several years ago.
The property in question is currently home to an industrial building that was most recently used by Beebe Healthcare for records storage. King and her late husband Tom also previously used it for storage and office space. The structure was built 90 years ago and had also been used as a hosiery factory.
The Kings purchased the industrial-zoned property in 1998. Several years later, the city rezoned the parcel to residential. King said she and her husband did not object to the city-initiated rezoning at the time because they were assured by city officials that they could continue to use the property as industrial. Around the same time, in 2012, language in the city’s comprehensive plan unintentionally limited how the property could be used. The Kings were led to believe they could raze the building and construct two-unit condominiums on the property.
Around 2017, it was discovered that city code requires a minimum of 2.5 acres in order to build two-unit condos. Several condos had been approved on much smaller parcels by the city for several years before the oversight was discovered. Former Mayor Jim Ford testified that he did not recall why the 2.5-acre requirement was included and suggested it was overlooked when the city was working on the comp plan and zoning code changes.
In 2016, the Kings sold off a piece of their property, leaving enough land for three 6,000-square-foot lots, the minimum size to build two-unit condominiums.
Because the existing property is not 2.5 acres, King cannot build two-unit condos on three lots, so she sought to subdivide the parcel into four single-family lots.
But because the Kings sold off a piece of their property – using guidance from the city that 6,000-square-foot lots were appropriate – one of the four lots is slightly undersized, which is why she sought the variance that was granted by the board of adjustment.
The request was met with opposition from several Schley Avenue residents whose main fear is that the smaller lot will negatively impact their property values. They also said the request was made for financial gain, as she is likely to realize more profit from four lots instead of three.
Longtime Lewes Realtor Lee Ann Wilkinson spoke in favor of the variance request, saying property values are not likely to be affected by the slightly undersized lot. King’s property is currently listed by Wilkinson.
King’s attorney Bill Schab also pointed to a 1922 plot record for Schley Avenue that showed all lots were less than 5,000 square feet with width narrower than 50 feet. He noted dozens of single-family lots throughout the city that are less than 5,000 square feet to show they are not uncommon. He also highlighted the latest sale price of a few to reinforce the point that property values are not an issue.
