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Planning board recommends setback variance to allow Rebuild Florida home at 522 Wildeuke Road
Summary
The Hardee County Planning and Zoning Board voted to recommend approval of a variance reducing front and rear setbacks so a Rebuild Florida replacement home will fit on a pre‑existing 0.09‑acre lot at 522 Wildeuke Road; the recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners.
The Hardee County Planning and Zoning Board on April 3 recommended that the Board of County Commissioners approve a variance allowing reduced front and rear setbacks for a single lot at 522 Wildeuke Road.
Planning staff told the board the property owner, Nikita Austin, and an authorized representative for Rebuild Florida requested the variance because the program’s smallest predesigned home would not fit on the parcel without smaller setbacks. The 0.09‑acre (3,920 square foot) lot is zoned R‑3 (multifamily residential) and is in the town center future land use category; it was created before the county’s 1996 Unified Land Development Code and thus qualifies as a lot of record but does not meet the R‑3 minimum lot size of 7,500 square feet.
Todd, a county planning staff member who presented the case, said the applicant sought to reduce the required front setback from 30 feet to 24.5 feet and the rear setback from 20 feet to 13.18 feet so a Rebuild Florida model home could be placed on the lot. "Staff has reviewed the criteria in our land development code for a variance, which is outlined in section 11.03. We have found that it meets those criteria and therefore, we, as staff, are recommending approval of the variance application," Todd said.
Board members asked about utilities and whether the change would place the structure closer to a roadway. Todd said the parcel and surrounding properties are served by private utilities common in the older Magnolia Manor subdivision and that alleys or utility corridors platted historically might exist behind lots. He also confirmed the existing house on the parcel would be demolished and replaced by the Rebuild Florida model.
The board voted to recommend approval of Planning and Zoning application 25‑24 to the Board of County Commissioners. A motion to recommend approval was made by a board member identified in the record as the mover and seconded by another board member; the board voiced its approval and the motion carried.
The recommendation now goes to the Board of County Commissioners for final action. The staff report and testimony entered into the record noted the variance recommendation is tied to the Rebuild Florida replacement home for the property owner and referenced the Hardee County Unified Land Development Code, including section 11.03 governing variances.
