FAIRHOPE, AL — A Fairhope homeowner seeking permission to avoid requesting permission was informed Tuesday that his request requires permission.
Fictional resident Walter Eaves appeared before the Board of Adjustment hoping to obtain a variance from the requirement to apply for a variance for a small covered structure beside his home.
“I am not asking for the variance,” Eaves explained. “I am asking for relief from having to ask for the variance.”
Planning staff confirmed that such relief is possible, but only through the submission of a variance application.
The application requires a site plan, hardship statement, filing fee and written explanation of why submitting the application creates a hardship.
The circle remains unbroken
Eaves originally hoped to build a narrow roof over an outdoor bench. The proposed structure extends eighteen inches into an area that may or may not constitute a setback, depending on which drawing is consulted and how confidently it is unfolded.
After staff advised him that a variance might be necessary, Eaves requested a meeting to determine whether he could be excused from requesting one.
That meeting concluded that an official determination would require an application.
“I seem to be standing at the bottom of a very well-maintained administrative well,” Eaves told the fictional board.
Board attorney Pat Tabled explained that the process protects residents by ensuring every request to avoid the process receives the full benefit of the process.
“We cannot waive the requirement casually,” Tabled said. “There are procedures governing how procedures may be waived.”
Commissioners discussed whether the request qualified as a hardship.
One member argued that the applicant's continued participation demonstrated remarkable endurance rather than hardship. Another asked whether the bench could simply be moved.
Eaves explained that moving the bench would place it beneath a tree, triggering a separate review concerning roots, canopies and whether the tree appeared in a photograph from 1947.
Staff recommended that the matter be continued until the applicant submits a revised survey showing the proposed roof, the existing bench, the potential location of the relocated bench and the emotional distance between all three.
Eaves asked whether he could appeal the continuance.
Officials said he could, provided he files a request for permission to appeal.
The matter was tabled unanimously.
By the conclusion of the meeting, the bench remained uncovered but had acquired significant procedural protection.
The homeowner requested permission not to request permission.
The request will require an application.