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Palatka planning board approves variance to allow smaller Habitat for Humanity home in Veterans Village
Summary
The Palatka Planning Board unanimously approved a variance allowing Putnam Habitat for Humanity to build a roughly 512‑square‑foot single‑family home on the final lot of Veterans Village of Palatka, finding practical hardships tied to lot size, prior approvals and affordability concerns.
The Palatka Planning Board voted unanimously to approve a variance permitting Putnam Habitat for Humanity to build a roughly 512‑square‑foot single‑family home at 14 Frank V. Oliver Way in the Veterans Village subdivision.
The vote came after staff presented PB case 25‑27 and reviewed the subdivision’s 2018 final plat, the August 2022 adoption of a city minimum living‑area requirement of 850 square feet for R‑1A zoning, and the seven criteria used to evaluate variances in City of Palatka Municipal Code section 94‑71. Staff noted that several lots in Veterans Village were created and some homes were built before the 2022 ordinance took effect, and that the proposed Lot 5 unit would be approximately 338 square feet smaller than the current minimum.
Remica Johnson, executive director of Putnam Habitat for Humanity, told the board the subdivision and home plans predate the 2022 ordinance and that redesigning the fifth home to meet the 850‑square‑foot minimum would impose substantial additional engineering and construction costs. Johnson said the prospective homeowner is a single veteran who was formerly homeless and has been on Habitat’s waiting list for about three years. “It would be quite an expense to go back to the drawing board,” she said, adding that higher costs would also raise the eventual mortgage for the homeowner.
Board members and staff discussed whether the subdivision’s status as lots of record in 2018 creates vested rights. One board member argued that an owner could claim entitlements that existed when the plat was adopted and that a later, more restrictive ordinance could be viewed as a regulatory taking; staff said they reviewed the city commission meeting minutes and did not find language excluding Veterans Village from the later minimum‑size ordinance. Staff also cited Putnam County Property Appraiser records for square‑foot figures used in the staff report.
Public commenter Allegra Kitchen urged approval, saying the 850‑square‑foot standard was aimed at preventing extremely tiny dwellings and that variances exist for situations like the Veterans Village lot.
After discussion, a motion to approve the variance passed with no recorded opposition. The board’s action allows Habitat to proceed with the proposed plan for Lot 5 under the terms presented at the meeting.
The planning board moved on to other agenda items following the vote.
