Cheatham County Zoning Variance

The Cheatham County Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance to a mobile home on a lot 50% of the required size (the minimum lot size is 5 acres; the variance allowed use of a 2.5 acre lot) back in November. Cheatham County Mayor David McCullough has decided to appeal the decision and I have heard that Robert Rutherford will be representing the County. See the article in the Ashland City Times.

Variances are very difficult to prove and almost impossible to defend on an appeal to a court of law. The leading case in the state is McClurkan v Metro Board of Zoning Appeals, 565 SW 2d 495 (Tenn Apps 1977), which Robert tried and won. Ordinarily, the applicant must prove some "exceptional physical feature" of the property causes a hardship (see Tenn Code Ann Section 13-7-109(3)), and usually that implies a small property with a steep slope or some other unusual feature.