BZA grants pool setback variance at 7722 Blue House Lane with landscape plan condition

The Charleston County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance to reduce the 50-foot critical-line setback for construction of a private pool and deck at 7722 Blue House Lane on Edisto Island, attaching conditions to address stormwater and buffer restoration.

Attorney Jack Smith and property owner Wade Bowles said the house was built in 1986 and the owner seeks to site a pool near existing stairs and utilities where it is visible from the house and readily accessed for safety and observation. "Where it is is right where the stairs go up to the Second Floor," Smith told the board, arguing the proposed location reduces impacts to neighbors and provides safer observation.

Staff recommended silt fencing and construction-phase sediment controls, use of stormwater mitigation measures (rain barrels, rain gardens) and compliance with the county critical-line buffer maintenance standards (ZEELDAR section 4.24.7). Neighbors questioned the application of the critical-line buffer, potential impacts to water quality, and whether a pooland its chemicalsmight enter marshes during storms. Applicant representatives said the pool is not expected to produce significant off-site stormwater pollution and agreed to staff-recommended erosion and buffer measures.

Board members debated the "hardship" standard for granting the variance; some argued a pool is an accessory use and the owner purchased the lot after the buffer rules took effect, while others noted the house pre-dated the buffer requirement and that alternative siting would severely restrict backyard use. The board approved the variance, conditioned on silt fencing, stormwater mitigation measures, maintenance of the 35-foot critical buffer per ZEELDAR, limitation of encroachment to the approved footprint, and an additional condition added by the board requiring a staff-approved landscape restoration plan to restore or enhance the buffer area.