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Plantation board approves rear‑setback waiver for Cisneros property to legalize raised pool deck
Summary
The Plantation Planning and Zoning Board on March 4 approved a practical‑difficulty waiver reducing the required five‑foot rear setback to two feet for a raised brick‑paver pool deck at 1341 Southwest 50th Avenue; the board tied approval to conditions in the staff report and to required permit corrections and removal of a gazebo the applicant has
The Plantation Planning and Zoning Board on March 4 approved a practical‑difficulty waiver reducing the required five‑foot rear setback for patios to two feet at 1341 Southwest 50th Avenue, allowing the property owner to legalize an existing raised brick‑paver pool deck and proceed with required permit corrections.
Planner Celine Rainford presented the Cisneros application (record PM24‑0100), said the single‑story, approximately 1,697‑square‑foot house sits on about 7,797 square feet, and noted the property owner purchased the house in 2022. Staff reported the paver deck and some later expansions were not supported by permits showing the required five‑foot rear setback; a permit application for the pavers had been denied when survey setbacks showed the deck two feet from the rear property line. The property is also subject to an engineering enforcement action to correct impervious‑area calculations. Staff told the board it had received notarized letters of neighbor support and no formal objections.
Applicant Jonathan Cisneros told the board he purchased the property in 2022, removed a gazebo two weeks before the meeting, and was cooperating with staff to remove pavers in selected areas to meet impervious‑area limits. His contractor described construction constraints near the pool steps: moving the deck north to meet a five‑foot setback could place steps too close to the pool coping, creating a safety and constructability concern.
Board members pressed staff on landscape and tree requirements and whether removal of pavers to meet impervious‑area targets was adequate; a city landscape representative confirmed the property must meet the city’s tree and shade requirements (minimum four shade trees, with at least one in front) and staff flagged which landscaping conditions would remain as part of permit work. Staff agreed to remove a now‑irrelevant staff comment referring to the gazebo, which the applicant had already removed.
After public comment — staff and a contractor spoke to technical details and neighbors had supplied letters of support — the board voted to approve the waiver subject to the staff conditions listed in the staff report, including permit filing and compliance with engineering and landscape comments. The roll call was unanimous in favor of approval.
Board discussion and staff comments noted that parts of the deck were constructed under a 1978 Broward County permit and that subsequent expansions occurred between 2017 and 2020; the current owner asked the board to recognize the historical configuration and permit corrections. The board approved the requested practical‑difficulty waiver and instructed staff to finalize conditions in the board order; the applicant must submit required building permits, remove or reconfigure pavers as required by engineering to meet impervious‑area limits, and satisfy landscaping requirements before final sign‑off.
