Board unanimously approves addition variance for historic home at 1701 E. Gadsden Street

The Pensacola Zoning Board of Adjustments unanimously approved a variance allowing a corner side-yard reduction from 15 feet to 8.9 feet to permit an addition to a historic single-family house at 1701 East Gadsden Street.

Applicant Raymond Port said he and his family have lived in the house for about 15 years and are restoring the more-than-100-year-old home. He told the board the proposed one-story addition would house a master bedroom and bathroom and expand the kitchen so the home no longer relies on a single shared hall bathroom for six residents. Port said the addition would align with an existing bay window so it appears original to the house.

Port described site work he has already completed, including removing aluminum siding to reveal and repair original wood siding and installing a French drain to address prior grading-related runoff. He told the board the proposed one-story addition would extend roughly 20 feet off the rear and terminate before a neighboring persimmon tree; he estimated about 45 feet to the rear property line and said the porch already projects beyond that line.

Board discussion noted the applicant sought the “minimum” change needed to achieve the design and that proposed materials will match existing siding. One member said the addition “looks fitting to the original architecture,” and another described the applicant’s work preserving original siding and roof details.

After a motion and an unnamed second, the board voted unanimously to grant the variance for ZBA2025-002. The transcript does not record the names of members who moved or seconded the motion.