HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved BOA minutes 07252018Page 1 of 4
Draft BOA Minutes
July 25, 2018
St. Lucie County Board of Adjustment
St. Lucie County Administration Building Commission Chambers 1
July 25, 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
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ROLL CALL 12
Bob Lowe... ........................................... Chair 13
Ron Harris... ......................................... Vice Chair 14
Derek Foxx... ........................................ Board Member 15
Alexander Tommie……………………….Board Member 16
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ABSENT 18
Michael Jacquin…………………………. Board Member 19
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OTHERS PRESENT 21
Heather Young ..................................... Assistant County Attorney 22
Linda Pendarvis .................................... Development Review Coordinator 23
Bethany Grubbs .................................... Planner 24
Mayte Santamaria………………………. Assistant Planning Director 25
Beverly Austin ....................................... Recording Secretary 26
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Staff introduced themselves 28
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ANNOUNCEMENTS 30
5 minute time limit for speakers within the public hearing section 31
32
AGENDA ITEM #1 – MINUTES OF May 23, 2018 33
Chief Foxx motioned approval of minutes as written. 34
Vice Chair Harris seconded. 35 36 AGENDA ITEM #2 – Public Comments 37
None 38
39
AGENDA ITEM #3–Petition of Stephen & Gina Smoak for a variance from the minimum building 40
separation requirements in the Harbour Ridge-Sweetbay Village Planned Unit Development 41
(PUD). Staff report by Bethany Grubbs. 42
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Draft BOA Minutes
July 25, 2018
Bethany Grubbs, Planner stated Stephen and Gina Smoak are requesting a variance to reduce the 43
required minimum 30 foot separation requirement between units, to allow a proposed privacy wall with 44
screen enclosure to be located on the east side of the existing one-story, single-family residence that 45
will encroach 4.26 feet within the separation requirement. The subject property is located in the 46
Harbour Ridge – Sweetbay Village Planned Unit Development (PUD), at 1518 NW Sweetbay Circle. 47
The zoning of this property is PUD (Planned Unit Development), and has a RE (Residential Estate) 48
future land use designation. 49
The Harbour Ridge Plat No. 8 / Sweet Bay Village Subdivision was platted in 1987 (Plat Book 26, 50
Page 6). The subject 0.25 acre property is a rectangular shaped lot and is approximately 130’ x 90’ 51
(11,700 square feet) in size. The said zoning district requires a minimum building separation between 52 units of 30 feet. Any deviation from these minimum dimensional requirements requires Board of 53
Adjustment review and final action. 54
55 Staff recommends denial of the variance as it does not arise from conditions that are unique and 56
peculiar from the land and physical surroundings and are created by the actions of the property 57
owners. 58 59
Chair Lowe opened the meeting for discussion and questions of staff 60 61
Attorney Frank Fee of 426 Avenue A, Ft. Pierce, FL representing the Smoaks explained why they 62
were requesting the variance. 63 64
Chair Lowe opened the public hearing 65
None 66 Chair Lowe closed the public hearing 67
68 Mr. Harris made the motion: After considering the testimony presented during the public 69 hearing, including staff comments and the Standards of Review as set forth in Section 10.01.02 70
of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code, I hereby move that the Board of Adjustment 71 approve the petition of Stephen & Gina Smoak for a variance from the minimum building 72 separation requirements in the Harbour Ridge-Sweetbay Village Planned Unit Development 73
(PUD) subdivision for the proposed privacy wall with screen enclosure to encroach a maximum 74 of 5 feet into the required 30 foot separation between the units as adopted in the Sweetbay 75
Village PUD subdivision; the property located at 1518 NW Sweetbay Circle because there will 76
be no detriment to the property values within the neighborhood; there will be no additional 77 traffic associated with this improvement; the individual most impacted by this variance 78
supports the variance. Chief Foxx seconded the motion. Chair Lowe added it will help the 79 handicap access also. 80 81
The roll was called: 82 Chair Lowe Yes 83 Vice Chair Harris Yes 84
Mr. Tommie Yes 85 Chief Foxx Yes 86 87
88 89
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Draft BOA Minutes
July 25, 2018
AGENDA ITEM #4–Petition of Millhess Inc. and Southall Inc. for a variance from the provisions 90
of Section 4.01.04 (Hutchinson Island Height Limitations) of the St. Lucie County Land 91
Development Code to allow 2 non-residential buildings to exceed the maximum 35 foot building 92 height requirement by 7 feet, for a total building height of 42 feet. The subject vacant property 93
is located on South Hutchinson Island approximately ½ mile south of Anacostia Place. Staff 94 report be Kori Benton. 95 96
Kori Benton, Senior Planner stated the subject +/-22.4-acre undeveloped property is currently zoned 97
HIRD, Hutchinson Island Residential District which is consistent with the RU, Residential Urban (5 du/1 98
acre) and R/C, Residential Conservation (0.2 du/acre) future land use designations. The subject 99
property also lies within the Hutchinson Island – Building Height Overlay Zone B, which provides for a 100
maximum building height of 35 feet. The predominant acreage of the site is located on the east side of 101
South Ocean Drive (SR A1A), approximately ½ mile south of Anacostia Place on South Hutchinson 102
Island. The project site contains 12.6-acres of jurisdictional mangrove wetlands, claimed by both the 103
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). 104
The petition seeks a variance from provisions of Section 4.01.04 (Hutchinson Island Height 105
Limitations) of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code (LDC) which regulates the height of 106
building on Hutchinson Island. The request is to allow two (2) proposed non-residential (institutional) 107 structures to exceed the maximum 35 foot building height requirement by seven (7) feet, for a total 108
building height of fort-two (42) feet. The proposed site plan includes four (4) buildings. The variance 109
is sought to increase the height of the center two (2) buildings. The two (2) buildings bordering the 110 north and south boundaries of the property are not proposed to exceed the maximum height. The 111
intent of the Hutchinson Island – Overlay Zone is to recognize the dynamic and scenic characteristics 112
of Hutchinson Island, in the unincorporated areas of St. Lucie County, ensuring development in the 113 coastal area is compatible with the physical and environmental characteristics of the coastal property 114
as per Comprehensive Plan Policy 5.1.1.1 (7.1.1.1. is the former policy designation). In April 2016, the 115 Board of County Commissioners approved a Major Site Plan for the site consisting of 102 residential 116 condominium units, with recreational amenities (swimming pool, gym, a tennis court and two (2) dune 117
crossovers). As part of the approved site plan, the Board authorized a waiver from Comprehensive 118 Plan Policies 6.1.14.5 and 6.1.14.6 to allow 1.21 acres of Category 1 mangrove wetland impacts and 119
0.86 acres of wetland buffer impacts. The approval has since expired. The project met the required 120
thirty-five (35) ft. height limitation. 121 122
Staff recommends denial of the variance request as it does not arise from conditions that are unique 123
and peculiar to the land and physical environment, or necessary to make possible the reasonable use 124
of the land, building, or structures. The site design is influenced by presence of the dune preservation 125
zone to the east, and wetlands to the west, however the applicant has capacity to advance petitions 126
for the intended use, at a similar scale, through reconfiguration without exceeding the allowable height 127
of buildings within the Hutchinson Island – Building Height Overlay Zone B.. This adjustment in design 128
may include, but not be limited to, redesign of the proposed structures, alteration of the interior layout, 129
or reduction to the number of rooms (patient and/or staff), amenities, or parking areas, The previously 130
approved condominium development, featuring 102 dwelling units and four (4) buildings, complied 131
with the maximum height allowed, the Building Spacing Formula, and had less impacts to the 132
associated 50-ft. upland buffer, for wetlands on-site. 133
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Draft BOA Minutes
July 25, 2018
Chair Lowe opened the meeting for discussion and questions of staff 134
135
Staff stated the Board of Adjustment granted a variance last year to the property to the north. 136 137 Attorney Lee Dobbins of Dean Mead Attorneys at Law, 1903 S. 25th Street, Ft. Pierce represented the 138
applicants and explained the need for the variance. 139 140
Public Hearing open 141
Charles Grande, 9950 S. Ocean Drive, representative of the president’s council on South Hutchinson 142 Island opposed the granting of the variance. 143
144
Mike Houston of 500 E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart was for the variance. 145 146
Public Hearing Closed 147
148 Mr. Tommie made the motion: After considering the testimony presented during the public 149
hearing, including staff comments and the Standards of Review as set forth in Section 10.01.02 150 of the St. Lucie County Land Development Code, I hereby move that the Board of Adjustment 151 approve the petition of Millhess Inc. and Southall, Inc. for a variance from the provisions of 152
Section 4.01.04 (Hutchinson Island Height Limitations), of the St. Lucie County Land 153 Development Code to allow for a 7 foot height variance for 2 non-residential buildings depicted 154
on the proposed PNRD site plan in the HIRD or proposed PNRD zoning district because a 155 previous 42 foot variance that was allowed for other buildings in the adjacent area to reach 156 and that the property would not cause any additional issues. Mr. Harris added that there would 157
not be any additional impact regarding traffic based on this variance. Chief Foxx seconded 158 the motion. 159 160
The roll was called: 161 Chair Lowe Yes 162 Vice Chair Harris Yes 163
Mr. Tommie Yes 164 Chief Foxx Yes 165
166
OTHER BUSINESS 167
Mayte Santamaria, Assistant Director stated the August BOA meeting is cancelled due to internal staff 168 training on economic development. 169 170 ADJOURN 171
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 am. 172 173