Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Landscape Modification Southern Grove topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board grants landscape‑modification for Southern Grove commercial parcel, requires wall at north property line
Summary
Planning staff and the board approved a request to allow an enhanced 6‑foot hedge and canopy trees along the western buffer (adjacent to FPL easement) in lieu of an architectural wall, while requiring a standard masonry/buffer wall along the northern property line where the commercial parcel abuts proposed multifamily residential (file P24‑169).
The Planning & Zoning Board on June 3 approved, in part, a landscape‑modification request for a Southern Grove commercial parcel (file P24‑169). The applicant sought permission to use enhanced landscaping instead of an architectural wall along the western and northern property lines.
Marissa Daria Leshman, Planning & Zoning staff, described the request and the site: the parcel is roughly 22.98 acres at the northwest corner of Southwest Becker Road and Southwest Village Parkway and is proposed to include a large home‑improvement store and a gas/convenience station (a site plan previously approved in April 2024). The applicant requested a continuous 6‑foot hedge (Clusia), assorted canopy trees and open areas in place of a masonry wall along the western and northern buffers.
Staff noted the west side abuts Florida Power & Light (FPL) easements (two easements totaling roughly 200 feet combined westward, including a 110‑foot easement). Planning staff recommended approval of the western landscape modification with a condition that the property owner maintain the hedge and landscaping at a minimum height of 6 feet. Several board members expressed concern about the northern buffer because that side abuts future multifamily residential and includes a planned access point between the parcels.
Kevin Valensky of Lucido and Associates, representing the applicant, said the planting plan would install Clusia hedges at a six‑foot height at planting and shade trees at 30‑foot spacing. The board voted to grant the landscape modification on the west property line (adjacent to FPL easements) and to require the standard wall/buffer treatment along the north property line; staff will work with the applicant to accommodate drainage, utilities, and future access points during the site‑plan review process.
