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Kroger - City Council - Citizens Presentation Item 6H and 6IProposed Kroger Site Citizen Concerns Development Density Too large for the site Removes most of the trees Traffic Over 7,000 additional vehicle trips per day ‘Big Box’ Style of Development Quality of the Development Not in keeping with Southlake No attempt to make concessions to create a quality development Fate of Current Kroger Will we have an empty strip mall in a few years? Variances Granting of a variance is a discretionary action Each variance request is unique; “precedence” is not a reason to approve or deny a variances Zoning does not confer the right to develop whatever an applicant desires if it cannot be done within existing guidelines Zoning does not guarantee the right to variances Profit of the applicant should not outweight the best interest of the public Variances Black’s Law Dictionary - “permission to depart from the literal requirements of a zoning ordinance by virtue of unique hardship due to special circumstances regarding person’s property. A variance is a waiver of the strict letter of the zoning law that when granted does not sacrifice the zoning’s spirit and purpose. Variances are granted when the request is not in contrary to the public interest and secondly when the literal requirements of the zoning regulations would cause “unnecessary hardship to the developer. Texas State Statutes - [The Governing authority may, in specific cases,] authorize a variance if the variance is not contrary to the public interest and, due to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship. Variances Variances should not be granted if it is not in the best interest of the public Variances should be granted ONLY if they do not sacrifice the zoning’s spirit and purpose. “Unnecessary Hardship” cannot be claimed for: Property that cannot be used for its highest and best use. Financial or economic hardship. Self-Created Hardship Variances Section 11-64 of Southlake City Code - Before granting a variance, the city council must determine that a literal enforcement of this article would create an unnecessary hardship or a practical difficulty on the applicant, that the situation causing the unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty is unique to the affected property and is not self-imposed, that the variance will not injure and will be wholly compatible with the use and permitted development of adjacent properties, and that the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the spirit and purpose of this article. Traffic Study Traffic Study