Variance from distance requirement.
San Antonio City Code § 16-949
in effectSec. 16-949. - Variance from distance requirement.
(a) The fee to file an application for the variance from the distance requirement set out above in subsection 16-948(a)(7) shall be three hundred dollars ($300.00).
(b) The variance procedure shall be as follows:
(1) Application. When requesting a variance in accordance with subsection 16-948(b) the applicant shall submit the following information to the director of the development services department, or his or her designee:
a. Completed variance request form with the following information:
1. The name and address of the applicant for the boarding home facility;
2. The name and address of the boarding home facility subject to the request, if applicable;
3. The name of the property owner where the boarding home facility will be located;
4. The name and address of the registered permitted boarding home facility currently in existence which triggered the request for variance;
5. Notarized authorization by the property owner consenting to the variance request.
b. Statement of justification for the variance, and how the variance meets the criteria in subsection 16-949(b)(4)a. below;
c. A site and floor plan showing the following information:
1. North arrow and scale;
2. Boundaries of the property;
3. Location and dimensions of all buildings and structures;
4. All fences, parking area, and landscape area; and
(2) Hearing. The director of the development services department, or his or her designee, shall set a date for a public hearing on the first available city council agenda after the passage of thirty (30) days from the date a complete variance application is received;
(3) Notices. No later than ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing, the director of the development services department, or his or her designee, shall send written notice of the variance request, to include the date and time of the scheduled public hearing, to:
a. The property owner of the registered permitted boarding home facility currently in existence which triggered the request for variance;
b. The applicant requesting the variance;
c. Registered neighborhood associations within a one-half (½) mile radius; and
d. Each owner, as indicated by the most recently approved municipal tax roll, of real property, within two hundred (200) feet of the property.
(4) City council may grant a variance to the proposed boarding home facility authorizing its location within one-half (½) mile of another registered permitted boarding home facility, as that distance is determined by the manner of measurement prescribed by subsection 16-948(a)(7)a. provided that city council finds the following:
a. Enforcement of the distance separation requirement is not in the best interest of the public, constitutes waste or inefficient use of land or other resources, creates an undue hardship on an applicant for a license or permit, does not serve its intended purpose, is not effective or necessary, or for any other reason the city council, after consideration of the health, safety, and welfare of the public and the equities of the situation.
b. If at the conclusion of the public hearing the city council grants the applicant's request for a variance, the city council may impose additional conditions on the granting of the variance, where such conditions are intended to mitigate the impacts caused by the boarding home facility and are in the public interest.
(5) Renewal and transfer. A variance granted pursuant to this subsection is valid for subsequent renewals of the registration for which a variance was sought. A variance granted pursuant to this subsection may not be transferred to another location, or to another operator, except in the event when city council approves as a condition of the variance the transfer to another location.
(c) Variance violation. The director of the development services department, or his or her designee, may request the city attorney to seek any and all remedies available at law and or equity to assure the conditions imposed on the granting of the variance are enforced.
(d) If a variance is denied, no new application for the same location shall be accepted within twelve (12) months from date of the denial.
(Ord. No. 2012-12-13-0971, § 1, 12-13-12)
Source: City of San Antonio, City Code, City Charter and Unified Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/san_antonio/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH16LIBURE_ARTXXBOHO_DIV2AD_S16-949VADIREFetched: 10/27/2026