City of Washington
Department of Planning and Development
Application for a Variance
Page 2: Applicant Responses to Relevant Factors, Pt. 1
In the spaces provided below, indicate the facts that you intend to show and the arguments that you intend to make to convince the Board that it can properly reach these three required conclusions.

a. THERE ARE PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES OR UNNECESSARY HARDSHIPS IN THE WAY OF CARRYING OUT THE STRICT LETTER OF THE ORDINANCE.
The courts have developed three rules to determine whether in a particular situation "practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships" exist.
State facts and arguments in support of each of the following:

(1) If he complies with the provisions of the ordinance, the property owner can secure no reasonable return from, or make no reasonable use of, his property.
Note: It is not sufficient that failure to grant the variance simply makes the property less valuable.

Statement by Applicant:

(2) The hardship of which the applicant complains results from unique circumstances related to the applicant's land.
Note: Hardships suffered by the applicant in common with his neighbors do not justify a variance. Also, unique personal or family hardships are irrelevant since a variance, if granted, runs with the land. Hardship in this sense means only a physical problem with the land, i.e. a ditch which runs through the property.

Statement by Applicant:

(3) The hardship is not the result of the applicant's own actions.

Statement by Applicant:
Continue to Page 3 of the Variance Application
Return to: [Home]  [Planning & Development]  [Zoning Applications & Forms]