HomeMy WebLinkAboutHE Determination HE 2021-001 Yam Ku Upholstery (DENIAL) CITY OF PASCO HEARING EXAMINER
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW,AND DECISION
Variance HE 2021-001
Home Business
August 2, 2021
1. FINDINGS OF FACT
1.1 Proposal. Request for variance to allow upholstery shop in R-1 zone.
1.2 Applicant. Apolinar Yam Ku, 4418 Muris Lane, Pasco, WA 99301.
1.3 Location. 4418 Muris Lane, Pasco, WA 99301. Parcel Number 118 010 199.
1.4 Site and Surrounding Area. The 0.18-acre site is zoned R-1 (Low-Density
Residential) and is developed with a single-family home. Surrounding properties have the same
zoning and use.
1.5 Hearing. An open record public hearing was held on July 14, 2021. The hearing
was conducted remotely, but with in-person attendance allowed. Access information was
available to the public to allow citizens to join via either a video link or telephone call-in, if they
elected to not attend in person. Due to video feed connectivity disruption, there were delays in
hearing progression. To ensure any citizens who wished to comment had the opportunity to
provide input, the record was kept open for a week, through July 21. The Examiner stated that if
there were any concerns on comment, or a need to re-open the hearing, comments on same
should be submitted during this period. No additional written comments from the public were
received. At the hearing, the Department, through Mr. Adams, summarized the proposal. The
Applicant, with the assistance of an interpreter, testified as to the nature of the small home
business. No one from the public indicated a wish to testify.
1.6 Notice. Public notice was mailed to property owners within 300 feet and
published in the Tri-City Herald on June 22, 2021. No concerns on notice were received and
there were no requests to re-open the hearing. City notice requirements have been met.1
1.7 Evidence Reviewed. The Examiner reviewed the Staff Report, which attached the
licensing application forms, maps (overview, vicinity, use, and zoning), photographs of the site
and area, and variance application.
1.8 Variance Request. The Department interpreted the proposal as an "upholstery
shop" operation, which is prohibited in a residential zone.2 As a result, the Applicant's business
license request was denied so he requested a variance. At the hearing, Applicant testimony
described minor furniture repair activities. He stated that hazardous materials are not used and
the activity lacks significant noise impacts. Furniture repair often involves stapling and
1 PMC 25.200.040;25.210.040; Staff Report,p.2.
z A final,appealable Department decision was not issued under PMC 25.150.050.
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Decision, HE 2021-001
compression. The use described at the hearing is not what the code contemplates as an upholstery
shop or operation, but is more accurately characterized as minor furniture repair. If operated
consistent with PMC 25.150.040, this type of use complies with code. Language barriers may
have impaired the Applicant's original description of the use.
2. CONCLUSIONS
A variance is subject to conditions to assure it is not "a grant of special privilege
inconsistent with" limits on other "properties in the vicinity" and is only granted if these criteria
apply:
(a) Because of special circumstances applicable to the subject property,
including size, shape, topography, location of surroundings, the strict application
of the zoning ordinance is found to deprive subject property of rights and
privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under identical zone
classification.
(b) The granting of the variance will not be materially detrimental to the
public welfare or injurious to the property or improvements in the vicinity and
zone in which the subject property is situated.
(c) The special circumstances applicable to the subject property were not
created through the action(s) of the applicant or any predecessor in interest.3
No special circumstances or anything unusual about the property were identified, though
as the use was described at the hearing, there would be no material detriment to surrounding
properties. "Upholstering" is a prohibited home occupation in a residential zoning district.
Due to the increased possibility for generating hazardous or nuisance conditions,
the following uses and those similar in nature shall not be permitted as home
occupations: dog boarding/kenneling; vehicle repair and/or maintenance;
rebuilding motors; painting vehicles; welding; sheet metal shops; upholstering;
firewood cutting and any group H Occupancy as defined in the International
Building and Fire Code adopted by the City.4
Due to this prohibition, and the absence of the special circumstances, the Examiner could
not grant a variance for an "upholstery shop." However, the code does not have a furniture repair
prohibition. If PMC 25.150.040 is complied with, and furniture is brought on site, repaired inside
an enclosed structure (garage or shop), and then returned to the customer, this would not be any
different than a typical home wood shop or hobby activity, and would have no more impact than
that type of activity, which is authorized.
If the use is not a shop, meaning there are no customers visiting the site and purchasing
newly upholstered furniture, and is instead a small home business taking on minor furniture
repairs, consistent with PMC 25.150.040, then this use is authorized and no variance is required.
s PMC 25.195.020(1).
4 PMC 25.15.020.
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Decision, HE 2021-001
DECISION
The Hearing Examiner, pursuant to the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law,
denies a variance for an "upholstery shop" as the code does not permit upholstery shops in
residential zones. However, this decision does not foreclose a furniture repair home business
conducted consistent with PMC 25.150.040, which more accurately describes the use, and is
authorized by code.
Absent a timely appeal, this Decision is final.5
DECISION entered August 2, 2021.
City of Pasco Hearing Examiner
Susan Elizabeth Drummond
5 See Ch. 36.70C RCW(establishing 21 day appeal period to superior court,and setting forth necessary petition for
review contents,along with filing and service requirements).
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Decision, HE 2021-001