1) an exception to a zoning ordinance, authorized by the appropriate governmental
body such as a planning commission, zoning board, county commissioners or city council.
Example the zoning ordinance requires that no residences can be built within 10
feet of a property's back line, but due to the odd shape of May Matheson's property,
she needs to build her dream house within five feet of the property line at one
point. The local zoning board listens to her plea, finds that the neighbors do not
object, and grants her a variance to build closer to the back line. 2) a difference
between what the prosecution has charged and what it has proved against a criminal
defendant. 3) a difference between what is alleged in a civil complaint and what
is proved. A substantial variance may be fatal to the prosecution's case against
the accused or fatal to a plaintiff's (the person who filed the suit) lawsuit. In
each case the judge can dismiss the case as a matter of law, without sending the
factual issues to the jury. In criminal cases the test of a fatal variance is somewhat
stricter than in a civil lawsuit, since a minor difference between the charge and
the proof may mislead the defendant and deny him/her "due process. "
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