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Planning Commission approves exemption for cantilevered deck over dune conservation area at Las Palmas address
Summary
The commission approved a request to allow a small cantilevered deck to extend into the Dune Conservation Area at 4235 Las Palmas while keeping the main structure outside the protected area; staff and the applicant said the deck was minimized and other mitigation (gutters, uncovered profile) was proposed.
The City of Galveston Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve case 25BFD-001, granting an exemption that allows a cantilevered deck on a single-family house at 4235 Las Palmas to extend seaward into the Dune Conservation Area (DCA) while keeping the primary structure outside the DCA.
Coastal resources staff Kyle presented the staff report and said the main structure would remain outside the DCA and only the cantilevered portion of the deck would encroach; staff reported the deck extends approximately 3 feet seaward of the Dune Conservation Area and that the structure’s distance from the north toe of the dune was shown as 21 feet in the survey included with the staff packet.
Commissioners and staff discussed the city’s exemption criteria (the city’s ERP section 4.2 and dune conservation plan) and mitigation measures such as minimizing footprint, leaving the seaward portion uncovered and adding gutters to prevent concentrated runoff and erosion. Commissioner Lance noted the deck was “really very narrow” and that staff had worked with the applicant to minimize the encroachment.
Applicant representative John Ladowski said the owner removed any ground-level structure in the DCA since the property’s earlier review and reduced the footprint to a cantilevered overhang. He described that earlier reviews in 2021 had not allowed the structure and the current proposal had been reduced to address those concerns.
After brief public comment and discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the staff recommendation; the motion passed unanimously. Staff and applicant said site-specific compliance steps will be completed with building permits and any required approvals from the GLO.
