The Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to approve a special exception for 4217 Las Palmas that reduces the front-yard setback from the LDR-required 20 feet to 14.3 feet, making the house consistent with nearby properties.

Board Chair Lydia Culkaba opened the public hearing and staff described the application as a request to match the existing setback pattern on the block after a post-construction survey showed the house was built beyond the authorized 20-foot front setback. The staff report said 37 public notices were mailed, 4 returned, 3 in favor and 1 opposed. No city departments or outside utilities objected.

Staff said the applicant seeks a 5.7-foot reduction in the front-yard requirement and presented photos, site plans and three videos measuring adjacent properties. Applicant James Casey reiterated the measurements and urged a vote, saying the neighborhood pattern shows similar reduced setbacks. Casey said he represented the applicant and added personal remarks about family health and the financial and emotional strain as he urged the board to decide.

Board members asked staff to confirm that the justification was that two or more lots on the block already failed to meet the LDR front-yard standard; staff confirmed that was the basis for the request. A board member moved to approve, citing that the request would not adversely affect adjacent property values or be contrary to the public interest; the motion was seconded and passed with four votes in favor.

Staff will provide formal written notice of the commission’s action within 10 days.

The decision recognizes an existing built condition by granting a special exception under the city’s Land Development Regulations (Article 3 addendum) rather than ordering alteration of the completed structure.