Pensacola zoning board grants four setback variances, approves expanded hospital signage and tables one variance request

The Pensacola Zoning Board of Adjustments on an evening hearing approved four variances for private-property remodels and additions, granted increased tenant signage for a medical campus, and tabled a separate variance request after the applicant agreed to seek alternatives.

Why it matters: The board’s approvals allow homeowners to enclose or expand existing porches and add living space without meeting the strict setback required by the Land Development Code; the signage approval increases permitted identification on the west elevation of the newly developed Henderson Health Center to help patients and visitors find an inpatient rehab facility on the campus.

The board opened the hearing by reading the seven legal standards from the Land Development Code that must be met to authorize a variance, including that special conditions exist and that the requested relief is the minimum necessary. Planning staff answered board questions and presented photos, site plans and neighbor-notification details for each application.

Votes at a glance: ZBA2025-009 (1620 Cypress Street): Applicant Steven Andrews asked to reduce the front-yard setback from 21 feet, 2 inches to 15 feet to enclose an existing screened porch for living space. The board granted the variance unanimously.

ZBA2025-010 (2510 Celtic Circle): Homeowners Charles and Michelle Olaf requested a rear-yard reduction from 30 feet to 21 feet to allow a bedroom addition (five-foot variance) and a covered porch slab (nine-foot variance). They told the board they had contacted all five adjacent neighbors and received no objections. The board approved the variance unanimously.

ZBA2025-011 (121 Baptist Way, Henderson Health Center): Brandon McFerrin, representing Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate, requested an increase to previously approved tenant signage on the building’s west elevation, raising the tenant placeholder from 48 square feet to 503 square feet of signage on that elevation (the building’s west elevation totals 14,021 square feet). McFerrin said the space will house a joint venture inpatient rehab provider (PAM Health) with 40 beds and seeks more visibility for patients and families. The board discussed past variances for campus signage, noted the code’s square-foot caps on large buildings, and approved the requested increase.

ZBA2025-012 (720 Stanley Avenue): Applicant Luke Scrimpshire asked to reduce the side-yard setback from 6 feet to 4.75 feet to legalize a porch that a contractor built 15 inches into the required yard. Scrimpshire and staff said the encroachment was discovered during framing inspections and neighbors support keeping the porch as built. The board granted the variance unanimously.

ZBA2025-013 (850 North 10th Avenue): Applicants Dale and Sheila Moore asked to reduce a side-yard setback from 6 feet to 3 feet for a proposed new single-family house sited closer to the property line shared with an adjacent salon the Moores own. After prolonged discussion about alternatives — shifting the house, adjusting interior room dimensions, using rear access for parking, or reconfiguring property lines — the applicant withdrew the request from a final vote and the board voted to table the application so the Moores can pursue other design or property-line options.

What board members and staff said: Planning staff (Greg) explained the technical reasons each item came before the ZBA (for example, converting an existing unconditioned screen porch to conditioned living space triggers a variance). After the signage presentation, McFerrin told the board the larger sign was intended to “give [the tenant] a little bit more exposure to help their patients navigate to that building.” Board members debated whether the Land Development Code’s limits produced repeated variance requests for large campuses; one member said that for big campuses, the ordinance can force repeated requests for reasonably sized signage.

On the Stanley Avenue porch, board members accepted the builder’s explanation that the porch was framed slightly over the permitted line and that neighbors did not object. On the Moore application, members repeatedly asked the applicant to demonstrate a hardship that is not self-created; several builders and board members offered practical alternatives — narrowing interior rooms, shifting the house north, or using the alley and rear parking — and recommended the applicant pause and revise rather than press for the variance.

Administrative note: Staff announced a new security-awareness guide appended to application materials after applicants reported phishing attempts that mimicked City of Pensacola payment requests.

Next steps: Approved variances were recorded as granted at the meeting. The Moore application was tabled to allow the applicant to return with revised plans or a different request; the board noted that a denied variance would bar reapplication for the same relief for one year, so tabling or written withdrawal preserves options.