Berkeley County BZA approves multiple variances, denies car-dealership buffer request

The Berkeley County Board of Zoning Appeals on June 1 approved several variances and a special exception and denied a request to remove buffer requirements at an existing car dealership.

The board granted a special exception for outdoor equipment and vehicle storage at a commercial-zoned lot, but conditioned approval on meeting county buffer-yard and screening requirements. Board members also approved multiple residential and accessory-structure variances, including replacements for nonpermanent sheds and front-yard garage setbacks, and granted variances for an industrial property to use an adjacent parcel for outdoor storage of aggregates. In a separate vote the board denied a request from a car-dealership applicant to remove or significantly reduce required buffer yards along public road frontages.

Why it matters: The decisions affect what property owners around the county can place on their lots and how those uses must be screened from neighboring residential areas and roadways. Several approvals included explicit conditions requiring buffer yards, fencing types or reduced sign sizes, underscoring the board’s continued emphasis on screening and visual impact in mixed-use areas.

David Colles, identified in the record as the applicant for a special exception at a general-commercial property, told the board, "I park my equipment there," explaining he uses the fenced site to store trucks and equipment because he operates a small trucking company and "didn't have the monies to do the actual building for the marine storage" he had planned. County staff confirmed chain-link fencing would not meet fencing requirements unless additionally screened, and staff said required vegetation buffers must be installed. The board approved the special exception on a motion conditioned on compliance with buffer yards…