Board of Adjustment upholds planning manager's decision in Shady Lane accessory-structure appeal

The Seminole County Board of Adjustment on a unanimous vote affirmed the planning manager's decision that accessory structures at a Shady Lane property cannot be treated as a principal use and that a principal structure or an approved conversion must exist before the board will consider variances for existing accessory buildings.

The board's decision follows a staff presentation that explained the history of two platted lots on Shady Lane, the removal of a mobile home that previously served as the site's principal use, and subsequent code-enforcement action. Kathy Hamill, interim planning manager, told the board she was presenting "a previous planning manager's decision" about whether variances for an existing garage could proceed while the property lacked a principal structure.

Why it matters: The ruling keeps in place the county's interpretation of the Land Development Code that accessory structures may not be legalized via a variance when they…