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DRB grants COA for pool at 408 South Boundary Ave.; board records it as side-yard placement
Summary
The DRB approved a pool and enclosing wall at 408 South Boundary Avenue SE after the Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance. The board clarified for the record that, because the lot is a corner lot, the pool is treated as a side-yard installation rather than a front-yard intrusion.
The Aiken Design Review Board unanimously approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for a pool at 408 South Boundary Avenue Southeast after confirming the Board of Zoning Appeals had granted a variance for the pool location.
Applicant Jeff Smith told the board the position selected for the pool resulted from the house siting: because the primary house sits far back on the lot there is effectively no conventional rear yard, and the proposed pool occupies space that functions as a side yard. Smith said the applicant had previously received a BZA variance to place the pool in the requested position.
Staff and several board members emphasized the distinction between "front yard" and "side yard" for this corner lot. A board member asked that the final Certificate of Appropriateness note the board’s finding that the pool is in the side yard, to avoid setting a precedent for front-yard pools on South Boundary Avenue. Staff said permit paperwork and the COA can reflect that language.
Project details: the proposed L-shaped pool (reported in staff materials as 46 feet by 20 feet) includes an attached spa and will be contained behind a previously approved 5-foot-10-inch wall that largely screens the installation from the street. The wall was approved at a prior DRB meeting. Board members and staff said the wall’s height and placement will make the pool largely invisible from the public sidewalk and thus consistent with neighborhood character.
The board voted unanimously to approve the COA. No public opposition was recorded.
Ending: Staff will record the COA language to reflect the board’s side-yard determination so the approval is clear in the permit record.
