Board allows Sylvan Abbey event venue and after‑the‑fact barbed‑wire fence with conditions

The Pinellas County Board of Adjustment and Appeals unanimously approved Sept. 3 a Type 2 use for an event venue at 1850 County Road 193 and granted an after‑the‑fact variance to allow a 6-foot chain‑link fence topped with 12 inches of barbed wire to remain where a three‑foot non‑decorative fence is normally the maximum in the front setback.

Katie Cole, an attorney representing property owner Sylvan Abbey, told the board the building on the approximately 26‑acre parcel had been under a long‑term ground lease until 2022 and that the applicant seeks to reuse the existing 14,500‑square‑foot home and outbuildings for community assembly and celebration‑of‑life events. Cole said the barbed‑wire fence was constructed by a prior tenant in the 1980s and that the applicant is seeking…