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ZBA allows accessory structures to encroach on front setback for two Ardmore properties
Summary
The West Palm Beach Zoning Board of Appeals on May 1 approved two variances allowing accessory dwellings at 1013 and 1017 Ardmore Road to encroach into the Charles Street setback, permitting 5-foot setbacks where 25 feet is normally required on double-frontage lots.
The West Palm Beach Zoning Board of Appeals on May 1 approved two variances that permit new accessory dwelling structures to encroach into the required front setback on double-frontage lots at 1013 and 1017 Ardmore Road.
The board voted 4-0 to allow the properties, located in the Pineapple Park area and zoned SF-14, to be treated as single-frontage for the purpose of accessory structure setbacks and to permit accessory structures 5 feet from the Charles Street property lines where a 25-foot front setback would otherwise apply. Staff and the applicant said the double-frontage designation is a unique condition on those lots and that treating the rear street as a typical backyard setback would facilitate infill and neighborhood-compatible development.
Rob Miller, owner of 1015 Ardmore Properties LLC and president of Highland Contractors, told the board the existing lots were part of an earlier demolition and split and that similar accessory structures and five-foot rear setbacks have been used elsewhere in West Palm Beach. "I believe this is consistent with West Palm Beach's goals for infill and neighborhood revitalization," Miller said.
Luisa Santini, senior planner in the city's land development division, recommended approval, noting the accessory structures on the two lots are designed as dwellings, not garages, and that staff's review found the petition met the variance standards in the zoning code. Staff's recommended condition — adopted by the board — states the 20-foot front-setback variance along Charles Street shall apply to accessory structures on the subject properties and that accessory structures remain subject to permit review and approval by the City of West Palm Beach.
Board members discussed the area's unique lot configuration and landscaping. The applicant and staff said landscaping plans filed with the permits include silver buttonwoods, palms and other plantings; staff confirmed approved landscape plans for the two properties will be enforced at permit review. Board member Sherry Hack and others noted the configuration resembles situations where a street and an alley coexist and that similar treatments have been used elsewhere in the city.
Board member Emily Savage moved approval of case ZBA-3450; Dana Picotte seconded. The motion passed 4-0 (Emily Savage, Dana Picotte, Christopher Hagen, Sherry Hack). Board member Dana Picotte made the motion for ZBA-3451; Savage seconded and the roll call vote was again 4-0. Both approvals include the staff condition tying the variance to permit review for the listed properties.
