Board grants front-yard setback variance for vacant lot in agricultural district

The Seminole County Board of Adjustment approved a variance reducing the required front-yard setback from 50 feet to 30 feet for a proposed single-family home on Vacant Lot 2 in the U of Eureka Hammock subdivision. Staff told the board the lot is a legal lot of record created before county subdivision regulations and that past Board of Adjustment decisions granted the same variance on two other lots in the subdivision. The staff presentation stated the proposed dwelling would be approximately 2,000 square feet and would encroach 20 feet into the required front yard setback. During questioning, a board member asked whether a smaller home could avoid the variance; staff responded that a smaller square footage might meet setbacks but conceded the applicant may prefer the larger product. The applicant, identified in the record as Miss Fisher, did not add further comment. A person in the audience, Jennifer Allen, whose property abuts the parcel, asked whether the proposed dwelling would take land from neighboring properties; staff and the chair confirmed the variance concerns only fitting the house into the existing lot lines. The board approved the variance on a motion by Mr. Beagley, seconded by the vice chair.