The Mathews County Board of Zoning Appeals, meeting on Feb. 11, tabled a decision on a request for a variance from the setback ordinance for a parcel on Lilly’s Neck Road.

Developer Walter Alford, who owns the parcel, requested the setback so he could leave in place a barn that was built on the property line.

His neighbor, Rhonda Williams, who owns the adjacent parcel, expressed opposition to his request, saying that having another person’s structure on her property line made her property less valuable and limited her use of it. She also said that performing maintenance on the structure would require that Alford trespass on her property.

At issue were questions of whether the barn was built before or after the county’s zoning ordinance went into effect in January 1987, whether an undue hardship exists for Alford if the variance is not granted, and whether there are plans, plats, or permits on file for the project, said planning and zoning director John Shaw. If the...