The Gulfport City Council voted to grant an appeal that effectively denies a requested front-yard setback variance for a narrow lot off Bayou Bernard, siding with neighbors who said the parcel was never intended for new development.

The contested property (subject of Board of Adjustment/Planning variances) sits on a narrow finger of land off Switzer Road. The applicant’s agent, John Ruble, told the council the parcel was “extremely narrow” and that his client, Billy Carney, planned a waterfront house and had secured Corps permission for dredging on the water side. Ruble described the design goals: “He’s trying to put something nice in there that would look like the rest of the community… the only way to do that is to encroach the setbacks a little.”

Neighbors and appellants urged denial. Samson Vasquez, one appellant, said he understood the earlier approval to be a 15-foot setback and noted that the owner could not guarantee full-time residency when asked earlier by the planning commission. Eddie Champagne, who lives next to the property, warned of drainage and wetlands on the north end and said building could shift runoff onto neighbors’ yards.

Council discussion centered on the zoning ordinance’s high legal standard for variances. City Attorney Jeff Bruni explained that a zoning variance requires five criteria to be met (Appendix A of the zoning ordinance, VIIIB2C), including showing an unnecessary hardship peculiar to the property and proving the conditions were not created by the applicant’s purchase. “It’s a stringent, it’s a high standard,” Bruni said.

Councilmember PJ, noting the lot’s plat designation and neighborhood character, moved to grant the appeal; the motion carried. He said he was swayed by the original subdivision plat showing the parcel as a boat ramp and by neighbors’ concerns that all surrounding homes adhere to a 25-foot setback: “My motion is to grant the appeal, on the basis that I do feel like it’s unfair to the residents there who have all built their homes at 25 foot setbacks.” The council granted the appeal; the record does not show a roll-call tally spoken on the floor beyond a unanimous “all in favor” call at the time of disposition.

Ending: The council’s action preserves the neighborhood’s existing setback pattern and leaves the lot subject to prior approvals only if the applicant returns with a proposal that meets the zoning-variance criteria and environmental and permitting requirements.

Speakers:[{"name":"John Ruble","role_title":"Attorney/agent for applicant","affiliation_type":"citizen","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:28:25","transcript_line_range":[1700,1740]}},{"name":"Billy Carney","role_title":"Property owner (present)","affiliation_type":"citizen","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:28:10","transcript_line_range":[1690,1700]}},{"name":"Samson Vasquez","role_title":"Appellant / resident","affiliation_type":"citizen","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:32:17","transcript_line_range":[1936,1956]}},{"name":"Eddie Champagne","role_title":"Resident / appellant","affiliation_type":"citizen","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:35:07","transcript_line_range":[2107,2144]}},{"name":"Jeff Bruni","role_title":"City Attorney","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:16:11","transcript_line_range":[971,1000]}},{"name":"Sue Lynn","role_title":"Planning Department staff","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:18:32","transcript_line_range":[1101,1125]}},{"name":"PJ","role_title":"Councilmember (ward representative)","affiliation_type":"government","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:46:25","transcript_line_range":[2780,2800]}}],