Hardeeville board tables variance request for concrete patio at Magnolia Walk

Hardeeville — The Hardeeville Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to table a variance request for a concrete patio at 239 Garden Gate Circle East in the Magnolia Walk area until a future meeting on March 4 so staff can obtain engineering information about drainage.

The request would allow a 7-by-17-foot concrete patio to remain 16 inches from the side property line — a 3.6-foot encroachment into the five-foot side setback required by the West Argent Planned Development District and the City of Hardeeville zoning and development ordinance (MZDO). City staff warned the board that the slab currently routes roof runoff into a shared swell and said a civil-engineering evaluation would be needed if the board considers approval.

City planner Chris (staff) described the parcel as a narrow, developed lot in Magnolia Walk and said the patio was poured without city permits after the homeowners received approval from their homeowners association ARB. "Because the lots are very narrow, a concrete patio will not be able to be poured anywhere except the side of the home within the side setback," Chris said, and told the board the change in runoff path could cause standing water in heavy rain. Staff recommended that, if the board were to approve a variance, it should include a requirement that drainage improvements be completed as determined by a civil engineer.

Applicants Laura and Tyler Salerno, who identified themselves as first-time homeowners at 239 Garden Gate Circle East, told the board they had followed their homeowners association process and were unaware they needed city approval. "Our goal here today is to reach common ground on our patio that we poured," Laura Salerno said. The Salernos said they had neighbors' support and offered to make drainage fixes suggested by a civil engineer, including installing an elbow on the patio drain to redirect runoff toward the alley drain.

Neighbor Kevin Bercowski, who said he lives at 257 Garden Gate Circle East directly next door to the Salernos, submitted written opposition and urged denial, saying the patio sits 13 feet from his living room window and that runoff from the poured slab currently floods part of his backyard. "For the reasons that I've articulated in the brief and for my comments here today, I respectfully ask that Salernos' application for a variance be denied," Bercowski told the board.

Several other neighbors spoke both for and against the request. Some neighbors said the patio could improve local drainage in the narrow lots; others said the subdivision's close lot lines mean granting one variance could prompt many similar requests. City Manager Josh Gruber told the board that the board's legal role is to apply five statutory findings for variances and that "If any one of the five [criteria] are not, you must reject the request because that's what South Carolina law requires." Gruber advised staff to gather targeted information that would help the board evaluate those findings.

After public comment and staff discussion, one board member moved to table the item and asked staff to obtain a civil-engineer report addressing drainage and whether conditions specific to this property would justify a variance. The motion set a date-specific continuation for March 4; another member seconded and the board voted unanimously to table.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve today's agenda: passed (vote recorded as unanimous in meeting). Not otherwise contested. - Motion to approve minutes of the April 2, 2024 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting: passed (unanimous). - Motion to table the variance request for 239 Garden Gate Circle East to March 4, pending a civil-engineer report on drainage: passed, unanimous.

The board asked staff to return with engineering information tied to the zoning findings so the board can determine whether all five required variance criteria are satisfied. If staff's engineering review shows the patio causes runoff onto adjacent properties and the homeowners cannot mitigate it, the board retains the option to deny the application or require removal of the slab; if the engineer identifies workable mitigation, the board may impose conditions on any future approval.

The matter will be taken up at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting scheduled for March 4, at which point the board said it expects to consider the engineer's report and any recommended conditions.