Board of Adjustment denies variances for pools at 1916 and 1920 Spanish Trail

The City of Delray Beach Board of Adjustment on Sept. 4 denied variance requests that would have allowed two new swimming pools to be built within the 25-foot front-yard setback at 1916 and 1920 Spanish Trail, voting 7-0 to deny both applications.

The applicants sought to reduce the front-yard setback for each duplex from 25 feet to 10 feet so that one pool per unit could be installed in the grassy area the applicants and their design team described as functioning like a backyard. The board found the variance requests did not meet the required findings under the land development regulations and ordered denial.

The applications were filed as a paired request for two, fee-simple duplex lots in the Tropic Isle neighborhood. Staff and the applicant agreed the duplex lots are in the RM zoning district; city staff said duplexes in RM are subject to a 25-foot front setback for pools while rear and side setbacks for pools are 10 feet. Staff’s presentation noted other technical requirements that are reviewed during permit review, including a 5-foot pool deck setback from property lines for drainage, a required 4-foot pool barrier, and a 40-foot site-visibility triangle at the corner that limits fence and landscape heights in that area.

Neighbors raised safety and visibility concerns during public comment. Resident Barbara Jane de Gaulle, who lives diagonally north of the parcels, said the area is heavily used by walkers and drivers and told the board she believed the pools would “impact our neighborhood” and increase congestion at the nearby intersection. Resident Michael Young said the neighborhood has no sidewalks and called the proposal “a bad precedent” for Delray Beach. Real-estate broker and the property’s selling agent, C.J. Menardi, told the board that “pools are not just common, but expected amenities on these properties” and argued the lot configuration created a hardship that was not the owners’ fault.

The applicant and their team described the grassy area along Spanish Trail as the only practical location for pools because the sides of the duplexes contain mechanical equipment, walkways and a lift station that limit pool placement. Landscape architect Louis Vahas said the proposed screening and plantings would provide privacy and help with noise. The applicant, property owner Alex Lewis, said they had contacted neighbors and tried to address concerns but that the permit process triggered the variance requirement.

City staff and the assistant development services director noted several of the public concern items—visibility at the corner, pool barrier height, and coordination with an upcoming public-works project on Tropic Boulevard—would be addressed during building permit review if a variance were granted, but those permitting details do not change whether the board could find the variance met the legal criteria.

After discussion, the board concluded the findings required by the Land Development Regulations were not met. The board clerk read the file number (2025-150) and the draft order; a motion to deny each variance was made and seconded, and the board voted 7-0 to deny 1916 Spanish Trail and 7-0 to deny 1920 Spanish Trail. The board’s order states the decision is based on the record presented at the hearing and cites the city’s applicable LDR provisions; the board also noted that decisions are issued pursuant to the relevant LDR section governing board orders.

Because the board denied the variances, the applicants would need to either revise the pool plans to locate pools outside the front setback or pursue other legal avenues available under the city’s code and permitting process.

File numbers: 2025-150 (1916 and 1920 Spanish Trail).