Port St. Lucie board approves variance for outdoor storage racks in landscape buffer at Biltmore Street warehouse

The Port St. Lucie Planning and Zoning Board on July 1 approved variance P25-031 to allow outdoor storage racks within a required 10-foot perimeter landscape buffer at 1791 Southwest Biltmore Street, a warehouse property, with conditions tied to the current tenant.

The variance, presented by Marissa Dabria Lachman of the Planning and Zoning Department, seeks a 10-foot landscape buffer reduction along 209 feet of frontage and a variance from an eight-foot opaque fence requirement around outdoor storage. The board approved the request with two conditions: the variance will terminate if the current tenant vacates the property, and the landscape buffer must be restored per the approved landscape plan if the tenant leaves.

The application was described as P25-031 and identified in staff materials as coming from Beecher Industrial Properties; staff noted the applicant materials and site photographs were submitted to the clerk at least five days before the hearing. Marissa Dabria Lachman said the site plan for the warehouse was originally approved in February 2005 and that the storage racks are located in the area of the landscape buffer.

Michael Heisenberg, who identified himself as the owner of Expert Shutters and said his company has operated in Port St. Lucie for 37 years, told the board the outdoor racks store aluminum extrusions used to produce hurricane and security shutters and that the racks are bolted to concrete. "We need the storage area for the business to continue to grow," Heisenberg said, adding the company has about 105 employees. In response to board questions about storm safety, Heisenberg said, "In the event of a hurricane, all those materials are lowered down onto the ground and then the wind passes through the racks and they don't pose any threat."

Board members discussed the surrounding industrial context and noted they were reluctant to set precedents that would be inappropriate for residential areas. A member asked whether the approval could be limited to the area presented; staff pointed to the condition requiring restoration if the tenant vacates and said the area was dimensioned in the application.

The board voted to approve P25-031 with the staff conditions. The motion and second were recorded on the record and board members voiced assent; staff will enforce the restoration requirement if the tenant vacates.

The variance modifies requirements from the city's zoning code cited in staff materials: the 10-foot perimeter landscape buffer requirement (identified in the presentation as Section 154.03(c)(1)(a)) and the requirement for an eight-foot opaque fence around outdoor storage (identified in the presentation as Section 158.126(c)(8)).