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Planning board approves variance for small downtown lot at 709 Tenth Court
Summary
The Panama City Planning Board approved a variance allowing a house and front parking on two narrow parcels at 709 Tenth Court, citing constraints that prevent rear parking; the motion passed 5-0.
The Panama City Planning Board approved a variance for property at 709 Tenth Court that will allow the house to sit farther from Tenth Street and place vehicle parking in front of the home rather than in the rear.
The variance, listed as case CPC-PLN-2025-0595 and CPC-PLN-2025-0596, was described by staff as relief from the downtown neighborhood setbacks: the 10-foot maximum front setback, the 80% minimum frontage occupancy and the 25-foot minimum parking setback in the cited table of the land development code. Staff identified the owner and applicant in the record as Jonathan Brooks.
An individual who identified himself in the hearing as Jonathan Simmons, after being sworn, told the board the subject lots are 40 feet wide and that meeting the 80% frontage occupancy would require a 32-foot-wide house, leaving about 8 feet for parking behind the house. Simmons said that utilities and fences on the lot, together with a 20-foot side setback required by a neighboring new house built under the older code, made rear parking infeasible. He also noted, "It backs up to Eleventh Street within 25 foot."
Board members discussed that the new zoning district favors buildings pulled closer to the road with parking to the rear, but acknowledged site constraints may make that design impractical in this case. After confirming no audience members wished to speak further, a motion to approve the variance carried on a roll call vote of 5-0.
The board record does not include conditions beyond the variance approval and does not specify any required follow-up reports or appeals timeline.
