[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:07] Charles, quorum, Richard Scherz, and welcome, Kurt, and also welcome, Chris Bierman. So, we have a quorum
[0:20] and if everyone can turn their phones off, we will stand and say the pledge of allegiance.
[0:43] Okay.
[0:50] The applicant Taylor Waters has requested a variance from the literal enforcement of the zoning ordinance section 3.19.2000.
[0:59] I mean, 002, residential agricultural and estate districts, which provides that fencing located within the required front side and rear setbacks, the minimum 50% see-through and to allow a board on board privacy fence within the side yard setbacks.
[1:16] hearings on the requested variances are held before the board in accordance with the Texas local government code section 211.09.
[1:24] A variance is an adjustment in the application of the specific regulations of the zoning ordinance to a particular parcel of property which
[1:31] because of special conditions or circumstances of hardship, peculiar to a particular parcel is necessary to prevent the property from being deprived of rights and privileges enjoyed by other parcels in the same vicinity and zoning district.
[1:44] The board will not grant a variance to relieve a self-created or personal hardship solely based on economic gain or loss to permit any person a privilege in developing the property that is not available to other property owners in the zoning district to allow use of the property that is not allowed in the zoning district or if granting the variance would result in an undue hardship to another property in the zoning district.
[2:07] Only people recognized by me and duly sworn in may address the board.
[2:12] Speakers shall move to the podium when directed, state their name and address,
[2:16] and then present their evidence or make their argument.
[2:19] The board may ask questions of any speaker, including city staff during the public hearing.
[2:25] Members of the public who do not have direct interest in the property will have three minutes to make a public comment.
[2:30] The public may not ask questions of the board, city, staff, or the applicant.
[2:37] So it is now 6.32 and at this time I open the public hearing for Taylor Waters
[2:43] request for a variance for the property located at 23 Cedar Bend Trail, Lucas, Texas.
[2:49] I would ask that anybody who wants to speak, you would stand and raise your right hand and be sworn in.
[2:57] Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.
[3:01] thank you be seated. Okay are there any attorneys present? All right at this time the City
[3:12] staff may proceed with this presentation of the staff report.
[3:22] Yes. Good evening board.
[3:25] So we have a fence variance request for 23 Cedar Bend Trail. So this is to allow a section
[3:33] a board on board fencing within a required setback.
[3:36] The variance is from the city code 3.19.002b,
[3:41] which requires fencing in the required front side
[3:44] and rear yard setbacks to be at least 50% see-through.
[3:48] The initial fence permit application proposed
[3:51] a six foot cedar board on board fence and was denied.
[3:55] Because a privacy fence must meet those setbacks.
[3:58] The applicant submitted an amended plan showing
[4:00] a see-through fence within the lower portion covered
[4:02] for animal protection, which would be approved.
[4:06] The permit fee was not paid and the permit has not been issued as of August 25th, 2026.
[4:11] A section of board on board fencing was constructed before permit issuance.
[4:16] And code enforcement has opened a case that and has sent certified mailings as to the applicant.
[4:22] This was initially delayed as the applicant just bought the home and calling cat had not updated the property information.
[4:27] As you see here, this is the reviewed site plan that identified the proposed fence segment
[4:35] and gates, but the site plan sheet itself does not show the fence material specifications.
[4:44] So this was the updated amended permit application that stated that the fence would open with
[4:50] four inches between the pickets.
[4:52] The bottom section would be covered up to three feet to protect the goats.
[4:56] The fence placement was described to be six, eight inches inside the property line.
[5:00] And the specific specifications was separate from the reviewed site plan sheet.
[5:07] Here you can see the comments that the municipality made.
[5:13] The reviewer said that they could not have a privacy fence at the property lines.
[5:18] And that they needed to meet those setbacks.
[5:20] The applicant's response was that they would amend the file, would no longer be run board,
[5:24] and it would be see through.
[5:26] An invoice showed a $75 due and zero paid.
[5:29] and the permit is not issued until those fees are paid.
[5:35] Here's the property location of 23 Cedar Bend Trail.
[5:42] And then here is the fence and the goats marry Kate and
[5:46] Ashley as you can see.
[5:47] And the fence and question is that board on board fits on the southwest side of the property.
[5:55] So literal enforcement of the ordinance would not create an unnecessary hardship.
[6:00] The alleged hardship is self-imposed.
[6:04] The alleged difficulty does not affect most properties in the zoning, any properties in the zoning district.
[6:09] The relief sought would not injure the permitted use of adjacent conforming properties.
[6:14] Granting the variance would not be in harmony with the spirit and purpose of the zoning ordinance.
[6:19] And the variance requested is, the variance requested is a newly built fence, and it's not on the tax rolls.
[6:26] Any questions?
[6:26] Just to
[6:35] clarify, the fence was actually built on the property, not the set-bat required set-backs.
[6:41] Correct. It was built on the property in my addition, it's a solid fence rather than 50%.
[6:47] So we've got two issues here. And in addition to, they were told they could not do that at the time
[6:55] of the permit. Is that correct? That was correct. The permit application, they were told during
[7:01] the application process that they could not have a board on board.
[7:05] Now a see-through privacy fence can meet the property line.
[7:09] However, a board on board privacy fence cannot.
[7:13] It must meet the setbacks.
[7:21] Anyone else have any questions?
[7:27] The board will now accept a presentation from the applicant.
[7:54] All right.
[7:55] Good evening and thank you all for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight.
[8:00] My name is Taylor Waters and this is my fiance Jordan Puddy and in three days my last name will also be Puddy because we're getting married on Saturday.
[8:10] Jordan and I purchased our home here in Lucas last month. We chose Lucas because we love the land, the community, the space and the lifestyle here.
[8:19] We are excited to make this our long term and hopefully forever home and hopefully raise our future children here.
[8:26] We hired a professional fence company to build a fence and to our knowledge our fence company filed a permit with the city.
[8:34] We believed we were going through the proper process when the fence was built.
[8:39] And on a personal note, we're getting married three days from now, so this has been a pretty eventful first month of home ownership.
[8:46] But these two right here were already part of our little family.
[8:50] this is Mary Kate and Ashley and they're really the reason that we're here
[8:55] tonight. We understand that the board has a difficult job. You have
[9:00] ordinances that need to be applied fairly and consistently. You have to
[9:05] consider not just one homeowner but what is best for Lucas as a whole. You don't
[9:10] want a green of variance that creates a safety problem negatively affects a
[9:14] neighbor or undermines the purpose of the ordinance and we respect that
[9:19] responsibility. It may seem like we're here tonight asking you to make an exception for a
[9:24] privacy fence, but that's really not what we're asking. This isn't primarily a privacy fence.
[9:31] It's Mary Kate and Ashley's fence. It was built to safely contain our goats on our property.
[9:36] We have a responsibility of livestock owners to make sure that our animals are safely contained
[9:41] and protected, and that's what we were trying to accomplish when we built this enclosure.
[9:47] moving the fence 20 feet inward would take away a meaningful amount of their
[9:51] usable enclosure. Changing it from the solid fence we selected to an open-style
[9:57] fence would also change the safety and containment features that we
[10:01] specifically chose for our livestock.
[10:05] We are not aware of a traffic visibility
[10:07] problem created by the fence. We are also not aware of a drainage or utility
[10:12] problem created by it and most importantly the people who are actually affected by
[10:17] this fence being near their properties aren't asking the city to make us move it.
[10:22] It's actually the opposite. I believe that three plus of our neighbors have independently
[10:26] contacted the city in support of allowing this fence to remain. And that means a lot to us.
[10:32] Because we certainly don't want the use of our property to negatively affect the people around us.
[10:38] Our neighbors don't believe that this fence is creating a problem for them.
[10:43] Moving the feet 20 feet does, however, create a real consequence for us.
[10:48] It reduces the livestock area.
[10:50] It requires a brand new fence to be moved or rebuilt.
[10:53] It requires additional expenses and disruption.
[10:56] And most importantly, it makes the enclosure rebuilt specifically for our goats less useful for its intended purpose.
[11:03] We understand the expense alone is not a reason to grant a variant, so that's not our argument.
[11:08] Our question is whether imposing that hardship accomplishes something meaningful for the city and the surrounding property owners.
[11:15] One of the things that we love about Lucas is its character.
[11:19] There's space here, there's animals here, there are horses, goats, livestock, family and neighbors who appreciate this way of life.
[11:27] That's part of why we chose to make our home here.
[11:31] And with the privilege of owning animals comes the responsibility to take good care of them and safely contain them.
[11:37] And that's exactly what we're trying to do.
[11:39] We're not asking the board to disregard the city's ordinance.
[11:43] We're asking you to use the variance process for an unusual circumstance where applying
[11:48] the ordinance literally creates a significant hardship without an identified corresponding benefit to the community.
[11:56] So we'd respectfully ask you to consider the specific fax in front of you tonight.
[12:01] This is a side yard fence being used to safely contain and protect livestock.
[12:07] Our fence company filed a permit with the city that we believed we were following the proper process.
[12:14] We have three neighbors who have taken the time to contact the city and
[12:17] support of the fence remaining where it is.
[12:19] We're not aware of a safety traffic drainage utility,
[12:23] reneburing property problem that moving the fence would correct.
[12:26] But moving at 20 feet back would significantly affect the livestock enclosure.
[12:32] Georgia and I are just beginning our life here. We're getting married in three days.
[12:37] We hope to raise our family here and we hope that Mary Kate and Ashley are just the
[12:41] beginning of the wonderful memories we're going to make on this property.
[12:45] These two are the reason that we built the fence. Our neighbors support it. We want to be responsible
[12:50] livestock owners and good neighbors. We respectfully ask you to allow the fence to remain where
[12:56] there it is. Thank you.
[13:10] Are there any other, I don't think there are any other public comments?
[13:17] Sure. She referenced three neighbors who contacted the city for support. Do we have any of those conversations
[13:27] recorded or any notes of any sort? See the email. I'm not aware of any that's come through. Thank you.
[13:35] They got the letter in the mail and they did email that email the day they got the letter.
[13:41] Anyone else have any questions?
[13:47] All right.
[13:49] The comments have now been heard from all wishing to speak.
[13:52] I now close public hearing at 6.44.
[13:55] And the board will deliberate this matter.
[14:00] And welcome to Lucas, by the way.
[14:08] Does anyone have any comments?
[14:18] Comment contractor had to get permit.
[14:22] And that permit would have specified
[14:24] why the characteristics allowed for offense on puzzledness toward the behavior.
[14:32] Richard, can you turn your mic on?
[14:36] I'll turn a little voice on it.
[14:38] Civil man with a...
[14:39] It'd be here.
[14:40] There you go.
[14:41] Puzzled this to why the contractor didn't let you know that they were needed to be a variance
[14:48] beforehand, or the characteristics that were allowed for that offense, that's puzzling
[14:53] to me.
[14:54] I can't answer that, obviously.
[15:02] I think that's a question for the applicant to address. The contractor did not inform
[15:18] me of any issues with the permitting. He just went along with the process, so I was completely out of the blue getting this message from the city.
[15:35] My comments are, you know, the. There really is no room to give you a variance.
[15:43] I'm sorry for that, and I think you have an issue with your contractor that I would
[15:49] certainly pursue it.
[15:51] And I hate that you're just moving to Lucas, and the first thing you have is a problem
[15:55] like this right before you get married, so I just don't see any way we can give it a variance,
[16:03] given everything, that there's a violation of all these ordinances.
[16:07] I do have a question for our attorney.
[16:13] We know that the fence is on the property line.
[16:16] We know that it's a privacy fence.
[16:20] Are there any adjustments available to the 50% methodology being achieved and still be on
[16:33] the property line?
[16:35] Well,
[16:40] a variant spy, it's very nature, is a person requesting something that is not allowed.
[16:48] So the strict answer to your question is no.
[16:53] And that's why you've got that, the guidelines for granting a variant, and I have to throw
[17:02] it back into your lap.
[17:03] If it were 50 percent, would it be allowed on the property line?
[17:08] I don't believe so.
[17:11] If it were 50%, it would meet ordinance
[17:15] to be on the property line.
[17:16] In other words, every other board's gone,
[17:18] it's not an issue.
[17:19] Correct.
[17:20] Okay, that's what I wanted to thank you.
[17:34] And I believe the design that's in your packet
[17:38] would be approved at the property line.
[17:42] Yes, that amended was approved.
[17:45] They just never paid for the permit.
[17:46] So if they went with what the amended plans were they would have had a permit for that
[17:52] On the property line. On the property line. Okay. Thank you. You want to weigh in?
[18:00] I don't think there's anything that we can really do for her at this point
[18:04] It does not conform to a hardship that's self-imposed
[18:09] There's ways that they can do something differently, but that's not for us to decide
[18:14] We can only decide whether or not it needs our hardships
[18:17] All
[18:20] right.
[18:24] Anyone want to make a motion?
[18:28] Make a motion that we vote to reject or request for variance in this issue.
[18:40] I'm now accept a motion on the applicant Tyler Waters request for variance from, oh, I just did that.
[18:49] So we need one second.
[18:50] Okay. Do we have a second?
[18:52] Okay. All in favor?
[18:54] Hi.
[18:54] Hi.
[18:57] We didn't desegate that I'm an alternate that I vote today.
[19:01] Yes, sorry.
[19:03] Yeah, everybody gets to vote today.
[19:05] Yes.
[19:07] Okay, the board finds that the meeting of the board is properly noticed and
[19:10] calmed and based on the evidence presented.
[19:12] The board finds that the request for the variance has been denied.
[19:15] You may appeal the decision of the board by filing a verified petition in a district court,
[19:19] county court, or county court law within 10 days after the date of the board's decision
[19:23] in this filed in the board's office.
[19:27] Sorry.
[19:27] This hearing is concluded at 6.49.
[19:31] Thank you.
[19:34] I'll never get mentioned.
[19:35] I'm sorry, why?
[19:36] The agenda.
[19:37] Oh, yes.
[19:38] OK.
[19:48] Consider approval of the minutes of the January 28th,
[19:51] 2026, 4th of adjustment meeting.
[19:54] Do I have a motion to approve?
[19:58] OK.
[19:59] And a second?
[20:00] Second.
[20:01] All in favor?
[20:02] Aye.
[20:02] Aye.
[20:03] OK.
[20:03] All right.
[20:05] Well, that closes our meeting at 6.50.
[20:09] Thank you, everyone.
[20:10] And welcome to our new floor members.