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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved BOA minutes 03282018Page 1 of 5 DRAFT BOA Minutes March 28, 2018 St. Lucie County Board of Adjustment St. Lucie County Administration Building Commission Chambers 1 MARCH 28, 2018 2 9:30 a.m. 3 4 A compact disc recording of this meeting, in its entirety, can be obtained from the Planning and Development 5 Services Department along with these minutes. A fee is charged. In the event of a conflict between the written 6 minutes and the compact disc, the compact disc shall control. 7 8 CALL TO ORDER 9 Chairman Lowe called the meeting to order at 9:30 A.M. 10 11 ROLL CALL 12 Bob Lowe... ........................................... Chair 13 Ron Harris... ......................................... Vice Chair 14 Alexander Tommie……………………….Board Member 15 Michael Jacquin .................................... Board Member 16 17 ABSENT 18 Derek Foxx... ........................................ Board Member 19 20 21 OTHERS PRESENT 22 Katherine Barbieri ................................. Assistant County Attorney 23 Linda Pendarvis .................................... Development Review Coordinator 24 Bethany Grubbs .................................... Planner 25 Beverly Austin ....................................... Recording Secretary 26 27 Staff introduced themselves 28 29 Chairman Lowe stated for the Board’s notice with the new staffing change it took longer to get 30 the packets. It will be corrected and is asking staff for at least a week ahead and 10 days for 31 the secretary to finalize so things will be taken care of. 32 33 ANNOUNCEMENTS 34 Leslie Olson, Director introduced Mayte Santamaria, the new Assistant Director of the Planning 35 & Development Services Department. And Linda Pendarvis, whose position has changed to 36 Development Review Coordinator will be primarily staffing this Board and providing 37 management oversite to the Board. 38 39 40 41 Page 2 of 5 DRAFT BOA Minutes March 28, 2018 AGENDA ITEM #1 – MINUTES OF February 28, 2018 42 Vice Chair Harris made a correction to the minutes of February 28, 2018, on page 2 of 4 on the motion; 43 he stated he did not say to continue this item to a date of March 28, 2018. What he directed staff to 44 do was to re-advertise and be sure that the sign was placed properly at that time. There was no 45 continuance. Mr. Jacquin seconded and the motion. 46 The roll was called: 47 Chair Lowe Yes 48 Vice Chair Harris Yes 49 Mr. Tommie Yes 50 Mr. Jacquin Yes 51 Minutes approved with correction. 52 53 AGENDA ITEM #2 – Public Comments 54 None 55 56 AGENDA ITEM #3–Petition of Iglesia Biblica De Ft. Pierce, Inc. for a variance from the 57 provisions of the Land Development Code Section 7.04.01(A) to allow for the construction of a 58 48 foot high steeple for a religious building. Staff report by Linda Pendarvis. 59 Linda Pendarvis, Development Review Coordinator stated the request is a variance from the 60 provisions of Land Development Code (LDC) Section 7.04.01(A) which regulates building height for 61 property within the RF (Religious Facilities) Zoning District. No structure shall be constructed greater 62 than the maximum height requirement shown in Table 7-10 for the Zoning District in which it is located, 63 which is 40 feet for the RF Zoning District. 64 The proposed approximately 5,520 s.f., one-story church building with associated parking, drainage, 65 and utility infrastructure is proposed at a height of 34’6”. LDC, Section 10.01.03 (Limitations on 66 Granting Variances) states that no building shall have a height in excess of one hundred twenty 67 percent (120%) of the permitted height, therefore the maximum height that can be granted for the 68 development is an additional eight (8) feet, for a total maximum building height of 48 feet. The applicant 69 is requesting relief from the height restriction for the steeple only at a total height of 40 feet. The 70 applicant provided pictures of other religious facilities that have a steeple that extends beyond the roof 71 line. 72 73 Staff has reviewed this petition and determined that it does not necessarily conform to a strict 74 interpretation of the standards of review as set forth in Section 10.01.02, St. Lucie County Land 75 Development Code. While the variance sought arises from conditions that are not unique and do not 76 qualify as a hardship as defined in the St. Lucie County Land Development Code, the variance is not 77 in conflict with the goals, objectives, and policies of the St. Lucie County Comprehensive Plan. Staff 78 is recommending denial of the requested variance 79 80 81 Chair Lowe opened the meeting for discussion and questions of staff 82 Staff was asked has there been any approval in the county for a change where a steeple is allowed in 83 the church. Staff stated they were not able to locate a previous variance approved by the Board of 84 Adjustments on a steeple for a church. 85 86 Page 3 of 5 DRAFT BOA Minutes March 28, 2018 Jason Harrison of EDC (Engineering Design & Construction) 10250 SW Village Parkway representing 87 the applicant was sworn in. They were asking for an 8 foot variance; they were taken off guard that 88 there was no allowance in the Code to allow a steeple above and beyond. A question was asked 89 regarding the report that was sited existing facilities that had steeples above the roof line. The board 90 wanted to know the height of them. Mr. Harrison did not know the exact height of them. An estimation 91 could be above 40 but cannot say for sure. It was asked if it would be lit up. 92 93 Salvador Merino of 5309 San Diego Avenue, Ft. Pierce (pastor) was sworn in and stated just the cross 94 on the front from the roof down – not the tower itself –would be lit at night. That portion on the site 95 plan would be facing south; away from the neighborhood for clarification. They explained the windows 96 on the front are fake to match the actual windows which is on one floor. There is nothing in the tower. 97 98 A question for staff regarding the middle school across the street; what is the height of the elevation 99 that is on the school tower. Staff stated they do not have a height of the middle school (Forest Grove) 100 but they are all one story buildings. The Board asked about the favor/not in favor vote. Staff stated: 101 2 responses not in favor, 1 no opinion and 1 in favor of the variance. The property owner at 2301 102 owns multiple lots. 103 104 Chair Lowe opened the public hearing 105 None 106 Chair Lowe closed the public hearing 107 108 Chair Lowe returned to the Board for discuss and/or motion. 109 Vice Chair Harris made a motion: After considering the testimony presented during the public 110 hearing, including staff comments, and the Standards of Review as set forth in Section 10.01.02 111 of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code, I hereby move that the Board of Adjustment 112 approve the petition of Iglesia Biblica De Fort Pierce, Inc. for a variance from the provisions of 113 Section 7.04.01(A) of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code to allow for the 114 construction of a 48 foot high steeple for a religious building in the R/F (Religious Facilities) 115 zoning district, because granting this variance will not increase traffic, we had 2 against but I 116 can’t imagine the cross would be that detrimental to their view; the people that were objecting 117 did not show up which would have been very nice, I would have loved to hear their reason of 118 objection. Mr. Jacquin seconded the motion. 119 120 The roll was called: 121 Chair Lowe Yes 122 Vice Chair Harris Yes 123 Mr. Tommie Yes 124 Mr. Jacquin Yes 125 APPROVED 126 127 AGENDA ITEM #4-Petition of Kathryn & Samuel Alioto for a variance from the provisions o 128 Section 7.04.01 (Table 7-10) Lot Size and Dimensional Requirements of the St. Lucie County 129 Land Development Code to allow a proposed screen enclosure to encroach a maximum of 10 130 feet into the required minimum 15 foot rear yard setback for a property located at 121 Queen 131 Guinevere Court, in the RS-4 (Residential, Single Family-4du/ac) zoning district. Staff report 132 by Bethany Grubbs. 133 134 Page 4 of 5 DRAFT BOA Minutes March 28, 2018 Bethany Grubbs, Planner stated the subject property is located in the Queens Cove Subdivision on 135 North Hutchinson Island, at 121 Queen Guinevere Court. The property abuts a canal along the western 136 property line and the Indian River Lagoon along the southern property line. Kathryn and Samuel Alioto 137 are requesting a variance to reduce the required 15’ rear yard setback by 10’ to allow a 5’ setback for 138 a pool screen enclosure. The zoning of this property is RS-4, and has a RU Future Land Use Map 139 designation. The said zoning district requires a rear setback of 15’ for structures. 140 141 The Queens Cove subdivision was platted in 1958 (Plat Book 11, Page 12). The subject 0.27 acre 142 property is a pie shaped lot and is approximately 105’ x 130’ in size. This lot is conforming with regard 143 to the minimum lot width (75‘) and area (10,000 s.f.) requirements of the present zoning code. The 144 applicants are currently constructing a two-story residence, which has received a Certificate of 145 Occupancy (BP #1612-0374). Accessory to the residence is an existing swimming pool and patio 146 deck. The applicant is proposing a screen enclosure around the pool, patio and master bedroom which 147 will encroach into the required 15’ rear setback. Therefore, the applicants submitted an application for 148 a variance from the provisions of Section 7.04.01(Table 7-10), of the St. Lucie County Land 149 Development Code to permit a maximum encroachment of 10’ into the required rear yard setback. 150 The Environmental Resources Department has performed a cursory environmental review and stated 151 there are no environmental issues regarding the requested variance. 152 153 Staff recommends denial as the variance because it does not arise from conditions that are unique 154 and peculiar from the land and physical surroundings that creates a hardship. 155 156 Chair Lowe opened the meeting for discussion and questions of staff 157 158 Chairman Lowe stated he spoke with the architect, Steven Neal and asked about if there were any 159 objections. He stated he did not see any “in favor” in the packet. Staff stated they have the opinions 160 and can pass them out. Mr. Harris stated if the map is accurate he is satisfied. He usually want to 161 see if they are not in favor and the reasons why. A question was asked does the setback interfere 162 with the river behind that particular property as far as an environmental study. Staff stated the 163 application was routed through the Environmental Resources Department (ERD) and they have no 164 objections to the request. 165 166 The applicant, Kathryn Alioto of 121 Queen Guinevere Court, Ft. Pierce, FL was sworn in and gave 167 her reasons for the variance. She thanked Bethany Grubbs and Linda Pendarvis for giving her a wealth 168 of knowledge and advice on the subject since she is a new homeowner and new at building. She 169 passed out a sheet with information outlining for the one neighbor (Travis) that had questions. She 170 explained it to the Board. His house is adjacent to hers and she wanted to make it clear to him that is 171 was not going to impose on his view or anything to do with his lot. It was accepted for the record. She 172 has the letter from Rod Reed approving the variance request where it does not impose any threat to 173 the environment. 174 175 Chair Lowe opened the public hearing 176 None 177 Chair Lowe closed the public hearing 178 179 Chair Lowe returned to the Board for discuss and/or motion. 180 Vice Chair Harris made a motion: After considering the testimony presented during the public 181 hearing, including staff comments and the Standards of Review set forth in Section 10.01.02 182 of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code (LDC), I hereby move that the Board of 183 Page 5 of 5 DRAFT BOA Minutes March 28, 2018 Adjustments approve the petition of Kathryn and Samuel Alioto for a variance from the 184 provisions of Section 7.04.01 (Table 7-10), of the LDC to allow a proposed screen enclosure to 185 encroach a maximum of 10 feet into the required minimum 15 foot rear yard setback for a 186 property located at 121 Queen Guinevere Court because granting the variance will not add 187 additional traffic to the development and not harm any of the land values and overwhelming 188 support from the neighbors, especially the one most directly impacted and they have the 189 required sign off from the HOA. Mr. Jacquin seconded the motion. 190 191 The roll was called: 192 Chair Lowe Yes 193 Vice Chair Harris Yes 194 Mr. Tommie Yes 195 Mr. Jacquin Yes 196 APPROVED 197 198 OTHER BUSINESS 199 There will be agenda items in the following months. 200 201 ADJOURN 202 Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:03 am. 203 204