The Board of Adjustment

Purpose

The Board of Adjustment hears cases concerning ordinance interpretations, requests, or appeals for variances. Their specific charges include:

• To hear and decide appeals from any order, decision, determination, or interpretation made by the Planning Director pursuant to or regarding these regulations.
• To hear and decide petitions for variances from the requirements of these regulations.
• To make an interpretation of any portion of this ordinance.
• To serve as the Watershed Review Board and rule on all petitions in accordance with the procedures specified in the watershed ordinance (i.e. issue Density Averaging Certificates - see below).

Application

Applications for appeals & variances are available below. Physical copies are also available at town hall. Please contact the planning department with any questions regarding the application process for appeals & variances. Additionally, please consult the most recent fee schedule, available on the Finance & Budget webpage, to determine the associated application fee. 

Appeal Application: To hear and decide appeals from any order, decision, determination, or interpretation made by the Planning Director concerning the planning ordinance.
 
Variance Application: To hear and decide petitions for variances from the requirements of the planning ordinance. 

Board of Adjustment Witness Application: A Witness Application should be completed by those who wish to testify as a sworn witness at a BOA hearing. Any testimony must be competent, relevant, and substantive to the issue before the Board. Complete Witness Application(s) shall be emailed to BOA Staff Liaison, Andrew Golden at agolden@townofdavidson.org at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing.

Board of Adjustment Standing Application: A Standing Application should be completed by those who wish to participate in a BOA hearing as a Party with Standing. The BOA reserves the right to grant standing based on the contents in this form if a proper showing of standing is made, to deny standing if the contents of this form fail to show valid grounds for standing, and to make further inquiries regarding any standing issue at the hearing. Any party who is denied standing will be allowed to participate as a witness, however, any testimony given must be competent, relevant, and substantive to the issue before the Board. Complete Standing Application(s) shall be emailed to BOA Staff Liaison, Andrew Golden at agolden@townofdavidson.org at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled hearing.

Members

All members of the Planning Board also serve as members of the Board of Adjustment. Members serve on a rotating basis, with five members (including at least one ETJ representative) serving for each case. The chair of the Board of Adjustment is appointed by the Board of Commissioners. A list of members can be found by selecting this link. 

Planning Board Staff Contact:  Andrew Golden

Meetings & Rules of Procedure

Meetings will be held every other month and will be announced in advance in accordance with NC General Statute 160D and the board's Rules of Procedure. Generally, they are held at Town Hall immediately following a regularly-scheduled Planning Board meeting, which are scheduled to occur on the last Monday of each month. Please refer to the Filing Calendar for specific dates.

Filing Calendar 2023

Built-Upon Area Averaging 

Built-Upon Area Averaging is a program whereby parcels located within a protected watershed may obtain additional impervious coverage rights by averaging the total impervious area of the developing lot with the total impervious area of an undeveloped/less developed lot within the same watershed. Essentially, the "receiving lot" obtains additional impervious square footage allowance when the "giving lot" establishes a non-revocable easement containing undeveloped, vegetated area. The amount of this easement area may be transferred from the giving lot to the receiving lot by Final Plat recordation, subject to applicable criteria and processes. Davidson Planning Ordinance Section 17.8 outlines the process and requirements for obtaining a Density Averaging Certificate, which must be approved by the Board of Adjustment. 

Currently, the Density Averaging Application and the Checklist are available for download. For more information about this program, please review these materials, the ordinance section listed above, and contact the Planning Dept. with any questions you may have.