Lakeland City zoning board approves three small‑lot setback variances, denies fence variances at Texas Avenue

LAKELAND CITY, Fla. — The Lakeland City Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals on March 4 approved three variances allowing single‑family houses to be built on undersized, pre‑code lots at 708 Thomas Street West, 1610 Lincoln Avenue North and 837 West Crawford Street, and denied four variance requests for fencing and visibility exceptions at 714 Texas Avenue.

The decisions reflect the board’s balance between permitting infill housing on narrow, historically platted lots and enforcing visibility and setback rules intended to protect motorists, bicyclists and waste‑collection access. The Texas Avenue case drew extended public comment from the property owner, who said crime and repeated vandalism motivated installation of taller fencing and screening.

The board unanimously approved the setback variances for 708 Thomas Street West (a 5‑foot reduction to allow a 10‑foot rear setback), 1610 Lincoln Avenue North (a 5‑foot reduction to allow a 10‑foot rear setback) and 837 West Crawford Street (a 10‑foot variance to allow a 5‑foot street‑side setback). City staff told the board the lots were platted decades ago and are narrower and shallower than today’s minimums, and that a 20‑foot driveway requirement reduces the buildable depth on each lot. Todd Vargo, Community Economic Development, summarized the lot constraints, saying the hardship was tied to “the unusually small lot” and noting no objections had been received from adjacent property owners; the board voted to approve each request with the required unanimous affirmative votes.

At 714 Texas Avenue the board considered four related variance requests submitted after the property owner replaced a preexisting 4‑foot fence with a 6‑foot chain‑link fence and added privacy screening. Keisha Khan, the property owner, said she bought the property in 2022 and installed the taller fence and lighting after repeated vandalism and what she described as significant drug activity on and adjacent to the lot. “The police told us don’t bother locking the doors or the windows because they’re just gonna keep breaking them,” Khan said, and added that lowering the fence would re‑expose the property and tenants to criminal activity.

City staff, represented by Audrey Maguire, senior planner with Community and Economic Development, told the board the fence had been installed without permits and remained, in parts, inside the code’s visibility triangles. Maguire warned that approving the requested exceptions “would establish a precedent in which variances could be considered based on code enforcement violations on adjacent properties and the absence of a hardship related to the land itself,” and recommended denial of the visibility‑triangle and zero‑setback requests.

The board took the four requested variances at 714 Texas Avenue in separate votes. The motion to allow a 6‑foot chain‑link fence with a 0‑foot street‑side setback (part 1) failed, 3 in favor and 3 opposed (the board requires five affirmative votes to grant a variance). A motion to allow a 6‑foot chain‑link fence with a 0‑foot setback along the alley (part 2) also failed 4–2 (not enough affirmative votes under the board’s five‑vote standard). The board voted to deny the requested 6‑foot height inside the 45‑ and 30‑foot visibility triangles (part 3) and denied the request to allow a 4‑foot wood privacy fence inside those triangles (part 4). In sum, none of the fence exceptions at 714 Texas Avenue were granted.

Board members and staff discussed possible non‑variance remedies: staff said the owner may apply for permits and work with the department to reconfigure or angle fencing so it complies with visibility triangles and setback rules, or to install a 4‑foot street‑side fence that meets triangle requirements and then angle back to a taller rear fence beyond the required front and side setbacks. Maguire advised that staff could guide the owner through permit options but that the land development code limits what can be permitted without a variance.

What the board decided

• Approved — Variance (5‑foot rear reduction) for 708 Thomas Street West to permit a 10‑foot rear setback to accommodate a 20‑foot driveway and a roughly 1,206 sq. ft. single‑family house; staff recommended approval; vote: unanimous approval by board members present.

• Approved — Variance (5‑foot rear reduction) for 1610 Lincoln Avenue North to permit a 10‑foot rear setback for a roughly 1,422 sq. ft. single‑family house; staff recommended approval; vote: unanimous approval by board members present.

• Approved — Variance (10‑foot side reduction) for 837 West Crawford Street to permit a 5‑foot street‑side setback for a roughly 1,755 sq. ft. single‑family house; staff recommended approval; vote: unanimous approval by board members present.

• Denied — Four related variance requests at 714 Texas Avenue involving 6‑foot fencing, alley setbacks and visibility triangles; staff opposed; motions to grant failed for each part under the board’s requirement of five affirmative votes.

Why it matters

The approvals allow infill construction on lots platted in the early‑to‑mid 20th century that do not meet current minimum lot area and width requirements; staff told the board the lots at issue were platted in 1925 and 1945 and are substantially smaller than today’s 5,000‑square‑foot minimum lot and 50‑foot minimum width. The denials at Texas Avenue underscore the board’s emphasis on sight‑triangle safety and the rule that variances must be tied to a hardship unique to the land, not to criminal activity or code enforcement history on neighboring parcels.

The board adjourned after completing the agenda; staff will work with property owners on permit options where possible.