The Volusia County Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission on Aug. 25 heard a set of residential variance requests and voted on a mix of approvals and continuances.

Key votes and outcomes
- V‑25‑044 (Robert Ayers): Approved variances to increase a front-yard fence height from 4 to 6 feet (variance 1) and to allow an in-ground pool closer to the frontage and side property line (variances 2 and 3). Motion to approve variances 1–3 with staff conditions carried unanimously. Applicant: Robert Ayers, 114 Imperial Heights Drive, Ormond Beach. Staff recommended approval of variance 1 and denial of variances 2 and 3; the commission approved all three with conditions.

- V‑25‑047 (detached garage, R-3 zoned property; applicant Kurt Hoffman, 702 Albert Lane, DeLand): Approved variances to reduce the north rear yard from 20 feet to 8 feet and the west side yard from 8 feet to 5 feet for a proposed 720-square-foot detached garage. Motion to approve variances 1 and 2 with staff-recommended conditions carried unanimously.

- V‑25‑048 (detached garage on rural residential, applicant Brett Fudge, 2141 Haunted Road): Approved a variance to reduce the north side yard from 15 feet to 5 feet for a proposed 1,800-square-foot detached garage; the commission approved the request with two staff conditions after noting the applicant had already begun site work; vote unanimous.

- V‑25‑050 (partially constructed 3,600-square-foot residence, applicants James Latheri and Eric Rushman, 310 Mitnick): Approved variances to reduce an east front yard from 40 to 33 feet and a north side yard from 15 to 10 feet. Staff recommended approval with two conditions; the commission approved the variances unanimously. Staff noted one letter of opposition from the adjacent neighbor to the north and explained the house plan had shifted during construction following earlier zoning review.

- Continued cases: B‑25‑032 (applicant-requested continuance) and V‑25‑045 were continued by motion to future PLDRC hearings; the earlier-noticed high-profile special-exception excavation S‑25‑003 and its companion variances V‑25‑019 were continued to Feb. 19, 2026 (see separate coverage).

Procedure notes: Where staff advised denial (for example, two of the pool encroachment requests in V‑25‑044), the commission elected to approve the variances with conditions. All recorded votes on the approvals noted in this roundup were unanimous. Commissioners asked applicants questions about site access, existing accessory structures, driveway and pad construction, elevation and floodplain constraints, and whether prior variances or site approvals existed for adjacent properties.

What’s next: Each approved variance was recorded with the staff‑recommended conditions as stated in the public record. Continued cases will be brought back on the stated future meeting dates or as re-advertised by staff.