Board of Appeals approves driveway variance for 21513 Avenue South

The City of Safety Harbor Board of Appeals approved Variance 2024-36 on Jan. 8, 2025, permitting a driveway apron at 21513 Avenue South to be 8 feet wide and to sit 2 feet from the neighboring property line rather than meeting the city code minimums of 10 feet width and a 3-foot setback.

The variance was requested by property owners Robert and Melinda Slaughter after the house and driveway were built to Pinellas County standards and the applicants later began an annexation into the city. Miss Chin, city staff who presented the item, told the board, "The staff recommends approval of this variance." Cecilia, city staff handling the annexation, said the annexation application was filed after the county building permit was approved and described the resulting conflict between county and city standards.

Nut graf: The board’s action…