Santa Rosa commissioners move River Road freeboard variance to Thursday after technical and precedent questions

The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners on March 10 moved consideration of a floodplain freeboard variance for a single-family home at 7746 River Road in Milton to Thursday's consent agenda after extended technical discussion and questions about precedent and disclosure to future buyers.

The variance request would excuse a newly built home from the county's 3-foot freeboard requirement above the base flood elevation, which in this parcel translates to a 21.0-foot required finished-floor elevation. Building staff and the homeowner told the board the house's finished floor measures roughly 19.93 feet — about 12.12 inches short of the county's standard and above the Florida building-code minimum but below the local requirement.

The case matters, officials said, because the county's freeboard standard helps win Community Rating System (CRS) discounts for local flood insurance and because granting variances may set precedents.

"I personally did not intentionally build this home below the 21 foot free board. This was an honest mistake which has caused tremendous hardship on my family," homeowner Robert Dryden said. "I ask for your forgiveness and your approval for the variance request."

Tambry Lee, building official, and Karen Thornhill, floodplain manager, summarized staff review and options. Lee said a post-construction under-construction elevation review revealed the shortfall and that parts of the floor truss system are not constructed of flood-resistant materials. "Should you grant the variance, we still have some other building code requirements that have to be applied to this floor system to get it code compliant," Lee said.

Engineer Max Spencer and the homeowner offered alternative compliance paths the county can accept: coatings and preservative systems specified by the engineer (examples cited in staff documents included Woodlife and Coppercoat-style products) to treat noncompliant wood components, or a much more expensive structural remedy to raise pilings and the floor. Dryden and his engineer estimated the coating and labor to bring the exposed components into compliance at roughly $6,000–$8,000; raising and extending pilings was estimated at roughly $100,000.

Commissioners pressed staff on technical and consumer-protection points. Commissioner Burkett said a granted variance must be recorded with the clerk of court so future title searches would show it, and asked staff to ensure the variance record would appear in a chain-of-title search. Thornhill confirmed that a granted variance is recorded and follows the deed.

Commissioner Wright said the board should consider whether the county's local freeboard standard belongs with the Land Development Code (LDC) task force's upcoming work. Thornhill explained the county standard had been set in 2005 on FEMA's recommendation to secure CRS discounts; county requirements now equate to the Florida building code plus an additional two feet in many cases, which is why the county number (21 feet here) exceeds Florida's minimum.

Chairman Carrie Smith moved that the matter be placed on Thursday's consent agenda for final action; a commissioner seconded. The item will return Thursday for a formal vote and any required recorded variance, according to staff.

What the board did not do on Monday was approve the variance. Board members said they were weighing the technical fixes, the effect on the CRS rating, the property's status as a family home, and the risk of establishing an unduly broad precedent.

Staff told the board they have tightened inspection and stamp procedures to reduce the risk of similar post-construction discovery in the future. "We have revamped those stamps, and we have tightened down our process and procedures in MGO that will not allow those inspections to occur. However, I can't control if somebody does something at their own risk," Tambry Lee said.

The packet included written recommendations and the engineer's specifications. If the variance is granted Thursday, staff said the variance will be recorded with the Clerk of Court and appear in future title searches.

The matter will appear on the Thursday consent agenda for final action by the county commission.