Commission approves Atlantic-facing orientation and overhang encroachments for 201189 Terrace; denies pool setback variance

The City of Sunny Isles Beach commission voted 3-2 to approve most of a package of six variances for a new single‑family house at 201189 Terrace while denying a requested reduction to the pool setback.

The application (PZ202504) asked the commission to treat the widest street frontage as the front lot line so the home would face Atlantic Boulevard, to reduce the street‑side pool setback on 189 Terrace from 17 feet to 4 feet 11 inches, and to permit several roof overhang encroachments into required yards. Planning staff advised the commission that the application does not meet the seven statutory criteria for a variance but that granting the variances would not be injurious to the neighborhood or detrimental to public safety and welfare.

The planning and zoning director explained that the property is a 7,933‑square‑foot corner lot in the R‑1 district and that the request would place the house oriented toward Atlantic Boulevard, convert program layout to the long side of the lot, and allow cantilevered overhangs to provide shade. The applicant’s designer, Maria Trojes of Toma Design Group, told the commission the client wanted the primary living spaces oriented to the south and that similar orientations exist on nearby lots.

Commission discussion focused on three issues: whether the house should face Atlantic Boulevard, the roof overhang encroachments, and the pool’s proximity to the street and neighboring properties. Several commissioners said they supported allowing the house to face Atlantic and found the overhangs desirable for shading and energy efficiency. Multiple commissioners, however, expressed concern about the pool setback and the effect on the adjacent property to the north — noting that air‑conditioning equipment, pool decks and service equipment would be closer to the neighboring yard if the orientation changed.

The applicant said neighbors had not been contacted directly but proposed adding a permitted privacy wall and dense landscaping and offered to relocate mechanical equipment if neighbors object after construction. Staff clarified that along street frontages the code permits a 4‑foot solid wall with up to a 2‑foot open railing above (a 6‑foot total height measured from the property grade), not a 6‑foot solid wall measured from the right‑of‑way grade.

After discussion the commission took separate informal votes on the elements. The orientation (fronting Atlantic) and the four roof‑overhang encroachments were approved; the pool setback reduction failed. The roll call on the final motion recorded Vice Mayor Lamont and Commissioner Joseph as yes votes, Commissioner Stuyvesant and Commissioner Viscara as no votes, and the mayor as yes — a 3‑2 approval for the package as amended (pool setback denied). The commission directed the applicant to redesign the pool area or reduce the pool size so the pool setback request could be removed from the final submission.

The decision establishes the front lot line for this parcel on Atlantic Boulevard for this project, allows the listed overhang encroachments as part of the approved site plan modification, and rejects the requested pool setback variance.

Members of the public who follow future permitting should expect revised construction drawings that remove or modify the pool encroachment before building permits are issued.