Applicant’s Statement - 291 Beaumont Ave

RE: Request Variance at 291 Beaumont Ave, Victoria BC

Dear Mayor and Council,

My name is Marianna Mazza, owner of 291 Beaumont effective June 1, 2012.

Firstly, I would like to thank you all very much for taking the time to consider my Variance application for the property noted above.

Prior to purchasing this property, and my first time at purchasing a property of this calibre, I felt the importance of contacting View Royal to ask all the right questions regarding:

• Size of lot (8799 sq feet)
• Location of services
• Questions around what type of services required upgrades and or new installation.
• Size of home that could be built, how many levels, and any restrictions around having a legal suite. (I was advised that I could build 2.5 story home and could have a legal suite that had to be attached to the home)

It was suggested that I have the property surveyed so that I would have the exact locations of where my property stakes would be situated and a more accurate square footage of lot. I went ahead and hired Robert J. Hartnell who was the original surveyor of that property in 1979 when it was last surveyed.

After the subjects were removed, I was informed by the surveyor Robert J. Hartnell that the property square footage was actually less by (800sq feet) than previously stated by View Royal and the Tax assessment office. I was also informed at that time that it appeared that the natural grades of the property had been altered by excavation and that a retaining wall previously had been build on the Pallisier Avenue side, (South facing) at the side yard. It looks like the previous owners had a vision in mind to change the grade of the lot but did not complete the renovation.

Since the ground has been excavated, there is actually no natural grade to this property and the altered grade makes a standard 2.5 story home impossible to build. If I had discovered all these details prior to the ‘subjects’ being removed, my decision to purchase this lot would have been different. I had also considered re-selling this property due to this unfortunate situation, however due to the costs incurred, realtor fees, land survey, Pacific Environmental (asbestos) fee and designer fee, this is just not an option and would be a hardship to me and my family. Therefore my proposed family home would need to be measured by the finished grades as it will not only give the best appearance from both sides of the streets, but also the finished grades will match and compliment the street grades too.

Thank you very much for taking the time to review and consider my application.

Sincerely,

Marianna Mazza