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Board approves variance to allow swimming pool in front yard at 408 South Boundary Avenue SE
Summary
A City of Aiken zoning board approved a variance permitting a detached accessory swimming pool in the front yard at 408 South Boundary Avenue SE in the historic Old Aiken neighborhood after hearing staff presentation, applicant testimony and board discussion about site constraints and a Design Review Board-approved screening wall.
A City of Aiken zoning board on an unspecified date approved a variance to allow a detached accessory swimming pool in the front yard at 408 South Boundary Avenue Southeast (tax parcel 121-09-06-07), a 0.44-acre lot zoned Residential Single-Family (RS15).
Planning staff told the board that notice was properly posted for the request and that no written comments were received; a neighboring property owner had sought only a verbal clarification about the pool’s location. Staff described the request as a variance to City of Aiken zoning ordinance section 3.4.2.b.1 (and noted section 3.4.2.g regarding non-inflatable swimming pools on single-family lots) because accessory structures are generally limited to rear and side yards and are not permitted in the front yard except for narrow exceptions (carports, ATMs, pump canopies and similar structures as determined by the planning director). Planning staff also noted the site plan included a screening wall design that had design review board (DRB) approval.
The applicants, Marie Smith and Jeff Smith of 408 South Boundary Avenue SE, told the board that DRB had already approved several elements of their site work and elevations and that the pool location results from site constraints in the rear yard, existing accessory structures and the placement of a proposed carport. Marie Smith told the board that “the shed will be removed once the construction begins,” and said they had worked with DRB on a brick wall intended to screen the pool from the street.
Board members questioned whether the pool could be sited in the rear yard and discussed the historic-district rules that allow design review to approve taller walls. One board member said the lot “is just not set up to do that” and described the request as more of a homeowner preference than a demonstrated hardship, while another member said the distance between sidewalk and roadway and the approved wall provided sufficient buffering and that they had no problem with the pool location. The board heard that the applicants’ proposed pool footprint is approximately 20 by 46 feet on the submitted site plan but that the actual shape is L-shaped and somewhat smaller than a full 20-by-46 rectangle.
After discussion, a board member moved to approve the variance with conditions: the pool location must be consistent with the submitted site plan; the final order shall run with the land and be recorded in the Aiken County Register of Deeds office. The motion was seconded and the board voted to approve the variance (outcome: approved). The transcript records the board calling for raised hands to indicate support and a recording that the motion carried; individual recorded votes by name are not specified in the transcript.
The board noted that other elements of the applicants’ overall site plan — including a 20-by-20 covered porch on an existing cottage, a carport, and the DRB-approved brick wall — had been approved separately by DRB or through administrative processes; the pool required the zoning variance only. The board also discussed the DRB authority in historic districts to permit fences or walls up to 12 feet tall (referencing the ordinance provision adopted in 2005), which staff said factors into the applicant’s screening plan.
The final order requires that the pool be located consistent with the submitted site plan and that the signed final order be recorded in the Aiken County Register of Deeds.
The meeting adjourned after the vote.
