Board allows wall and lot-size variances for New River Pointe project on Davie Boulevard amid strong neighborhood opposition

The Fort Lauderdale Board of Adjustment voted to grant three variances for the New River Pointe project on Davie Boulevard after a lengthy public hearing in which neighbors raised concerns about lot sizes, tree removals, drainage and traffic.

Attorney Stephanie Toothaker, representing the developer, told the board the property is zoned RS-8 and that the proposal is for single-family homes. Toothaker asked the board to allow a continuous privacy wall to be built before the principal residences are constructed, to permit a wall up to 8 feet tall measured from the existing sidewalk (a 1 foot 6 inch increase over the 6 foot 6 inch ULDR limit), and to allow minimum lot areas down to 6,000 square feet with a 50-foot lot width for most lots on the south side of the site. She said the increased wall height is needed because future home finished floors will be elevated to meet FEMA requirements, and that the wall is intended to provide noise attenuation and privacy from heavily traveled Davie Boulevard.

Neighbors and representatives of adjacent property owners strongly contested the lot-size variance. Attorney Jeffrey Shalek, representing the owner of 1131 Southwest 9th Street, said shrinking lots from 75 to 50 feet would “increase the density by 50%” and that the applicant had not demonstrated a parcel-specific hardship required for a variance. Multiple residents — including long-time neighbors who described repeated flooding and mature tree canopy along the corridor — urged the board to deny reductions in minimum lot sizes and warned that smaller lots would harm the neighborhood’s character, increase traffic, and worsen drainage.

Other neighbors supported aspects of the project. Jay Shechtman and others said they welcomed single-family reuse of the site and that a uniform wall could be an improvement over a patchwork of individually styled fences. Several speakers also pressed the applicant on how drainage, tree preservation and long-term maintenance of landscaping would be handled.

On the first motion, the board approved a variance allowing the permanent privacy wall to be constructed before the principal buildings. The board then took a separate motion to permit the privacy wall up to 8 feet high measured from the surface of the existing sidewalk; that motion also passed. Finally, the board considered the subdivision-lot-size and width variance: staff and counsel explained the request stemmed from an interpretation issue between zoning district lot standards (RS-8) and subdivision regulations. The board found the variance criteria met and approved reduced lot size and width for the lots identified in the application.

Board discussion acknowledged the strong public concern about trees and drainage; several members said those issues are governed by separate permitting processes (tree permits, Broward County Surface Water Management and building-permit drainage reviews), and that approval of the variances does not waive those requirements. The board also noted it was addressing narrow code-based requests before it, not broader policy questions about the subdivision regulations.

What happens next: approvals allow the developer to proceed with the planned lot layout and the wall design subject to building-permit conditions, separate tree permits, and county drainage review. Opponents were told they may appeal to the City Commission if they disagree with the Board’s interpretation or outcome.