Miami Beach zoning board approves rear-yard setback variance for Sheridan Avenue addition

MIAMI BEACH — The Miami Beach Zoning Board of Adjustment on March 3 approved a variance to reduce the rear-yard setback for a single-story addition at a Sheridan Avenue house, allowing the addition to bring the rear setback from about 17 feet to 5 feet 2 inches while imposing conditions for additional screening and limited flexibility to enlarge the footprint for a closet.

The variance (ZBA file number 22-0139) was approved 5-0. Board member Aronson moved to approve the variance; board member Malakoff seconded. The board included two conditions discussed during the hearing: permission for the applicant to slightly expand the interior footprint if needed to accommodate a closet, and installation of additional screening (for example, traveler palms) subject to review by the Public Works Department.

Staff told the board that the existing one-story Mediterranean-style house was built in 1938 on an irregular, parallelogram-shaped lot and that the lot geometry and shallow depth limit the owner’s ability to expand without a variance. City staff noted the proposed single-story addition is approximately 200 square feet, the house would remain under the city’s 40 percent maximum lot coverage for a single-story home, and the home is nonconforming with the city minimum unit size of 1,800 square feet and will remain undersized after the addition. Staff recommended approval of the variance.

Peter Chevalier, the architect for the applicant, said the project aimed to keep the addition on the ground floor to “maintain the street facade and look and massing of this original house” and to avoid adding a second-story “pop up” that would alter the structure’s composition. Chevalier said the homeowners are a family of five and that locating the addition where proposed opens the backyard and concentrates bedrooms on one side of the house.

Board members asked technical questions about access, closet space and mechanical placement. The architect explained an alcove will house an air-conditioning unit outside the easement and that the roof will match the existing fully hipped tile roof; he said the applicant may reroof the entire house when filing construction documents to ensure matching tiles. The applicant provided letters of support from adjacent neighbors, and the board noted the most-affected neighbor had submitted a supportive letter.

Board member Aronson advocated adding a closet, saying from a resale perspective the room should include one. The applicant agreed to incorporate a closet and asked the board to allow limited flexibility—moving the internal footprint slightly north if needed—to accommodate it without changing the approved side setback. The board approved adding that flexibility as a condition.

As a second condition, the board required additional screening along the rear property line to reduce visual impact on the neighbor; the board and applicant agreed any planting or landscaping within a utility easement would be subject to Public Works review and approval. The applicant said existing traveler palms and a solid wood fence already provide some screening and that the palms would not be removed for the project.

Decision details: the motion passed 5-0; mover: board member Aronson; second: board member Malakoff. The board instructed staff and the applicant to reflect the two conditions—limited footprint flexibility for a closet and additional screening subject to Public Works review—in the approval documentation.

The board’s action allows the applicant to proceed to the city’s Building Department with construction documents; the applicant indicated plans may include a broader exterior upgrade such as reroofing to match tiles and blend the addition with the existing house.