Board of Appeals approves variance for second driveway at 1301 North Bayshore Drive

The City of Safety Harbor Board of Appeals on April 9 approved a variance to allow a second driveway at 1301 North Bayshore Drive that will create a semicircular connection between North Bayshore Drive and Washington Avenue.

City staff presented the item as a request under the Safety Harbor zoning and land development code, section 1.9(c), and recommended denial after concluding that the application did not meet several of the code's variance criteria. "We just do not believe a zoning variance is the correct path for this request," City staff member Cecilia said, summarizing the staff analysis and noting the review found the request did not meet criteria related to special circumstances, reasonable use and other standards.

The applicant, identifying himself as Dean Nick J., told the board the driveway was designed to avoid damage to a large live oak on the property and to provide direct, covered access for his mother, who uses wheelchair transport. "From day 1, it was how do we design this house so we do not damage that tree," Dean Nick J. said. He also said his mother "cannot be in a regular car," and that the semicircular driveway would allow wheelchair transport to drop her at the front entrance instead of attempting a longer move from the approved garage entrance.

The property's original building permit and an approved 24-foot driveway to the garage remain on record; staff said the semicircular connection would create a second driveway on the Washington Avenue frontage, which the code limits to one driveway per street frontage except where a single circular driveway provides connected access. Staff's analysis noted the proposed semicircular driveway is not a single connected circular drive under the department's reading of the code and therefore would require a variance. Staff also cited Code section 1.9(c) and the city's variance standards, which require the board to find that specific criteria are met before granting relief.

Board members debated whether the code's language and intent were being correctly applied to corner lots and circular-drive configurations. Several members argued the design preserved the mature live oak and reduced safety risks associated with backing a large wheelchair vehicle onto North Bayshore Drive, a busier pedestrian and bicycle corridor. One board member summarized that the combination of tree preservation, the lot's corner configuration and the applicant's accessibility needs met the variance criteria and moved to approve the request.

A roll-call vote recorded six votes in favor and one opposed. The board also accepted signed neighbor support as part of the record.

The variance was approved and will be reflected in the building permit documents. The board did not attach additional conditions on the record beyond standard permitting requirements; staff noted possible alternatives—building only the north-side driveway to North Bayshore Drive or redesigning a single connected circular drive linking both frontages—but said those options would require different site changes that the applicant and board discussed.

The discussion showed disagreement between staff's technical reading of the code and a majority of the board on how the rules apply to corner lots and circular drives. Board members emphasized that approval was based on the evidence presented at the hearing: the site's tree, the home's orientation and the applicant's stated disability-related access needs.

Minutes from the April 9 hearing will record the motion approving variance 2025-07VAR and the roll-call vote.