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BZA allows retaining wall to encroach into public utility/drainage easement after board raises concerns about prior approvals
Summary
The Board approved a variance permitting a retaining wall to encroach into a PUDE along Mayswift Drive for Lot 192 (797 Saint Clair Ave); staff recommended denial and noted the applicant must still seek PUDE vacatur for construction. The motion passed 2-1.
The Spring Hill Board of Zoning Appeals on July 15 approved a variance to allow a retaining wall to encroach approximately 6 feet into a Public Utility/Drainage Easement (PUDE) along Mayswift Drive for Lot 192 at 797 Saint Clair Avenue, subject to staff conditions. Staff had recommended denial.
Senior Planner Gil Moran told the board that retaining walls are not permitted encroachments into setbacks under the UDC and that, per the PZD for the development, Lot 192 shows a 10-foot combination setback. Moran said the proposed retaining wall would be roughly 73 feet long and would encroach into the corner side setback by about 6 feet. "Approval of this request would only allow a variance of the setback," he said, and added that the applicant would subsequently be required to apply to abandon a large portion of the PUDE if the variance were approved.
Tyler Belcher of Signature Homes, the contractor building the home on Lot 192, told the board the foundation was poured and the home is about 90% complete. He said the builder relied on a prior, similar staff-level approval for Lot 191 when representing the lot to the buyer and that the current grade results in about a 6-foot drop from patio to sidewalk, creating functional yard use issues without a retaining wall. "We had... determined that we could... permit a similar wall on Lot 191," Belcher said, and described site elevations and utility clearance (storm inlet/right-of-way more than 10 feet from the property line).
During discussion, board members noted there are retaining walls that had been approved in a PUDE in error by staff and that vacating a dedicated PUDE requires action by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Some members said denying this request could make Lot 192 not match neighboring lots; others warned approving a variance without the vacatur could create difficulties for future utilities or drainage.
A motion to "adopt the findings of fact and conclusions of law and approve BZA18512025 subject to staff conditions" passed 2–1. The transcript records the 2–1 tally but does not record individual roll-call votes. Staff and the applicant were advised that additional approvals may be required to vacate portions of the PUDE before construction can proceed.
