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Dillsboro grants Walker variance

By Rose Hooper
In a special called meeting 9 a.m. Saturday morning, May 13, the Dillsboro Town Board voted to grant T.J. Walker a variance.

The variance allows Walker to construct his planned 28-square-foot cabin 3 feet above the current grade at his Dillsboro Inn site. That would place the floor of the first floor approximately 8 feet below the 100-year flood level.

As part of the variance, Walker agreed to accept full responsibility for any resulting damages during a flood on his property.

Board member Jim Cochran stipulated, and others members concurred, that Walker's expansion must not be on town property. "That includes any overhangs or any subfloors underneath," Cochran spelled out and Walker agreed to.

Walker, owner of the Dillsboro Inn, had planned an eight-room expansion of his inn on River Road. But due to Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer lines and manholes in the middle of his property, he had to modify the expansion into a separate unit. As a separate unit, it falls under flood plan restrictions and regulations.

Mayor Wade Wilson told Walker that, according to the flood plain ordinance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be notified when any variance is granted.

Back to Archive: 05/18/00.