Board approves special exception to expand building-trades contractor yard with conditions

Charlotte County's Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception Nov. 19 to modify a prior approval and allow expansion of a building-trades contractor's office with outdoor storage at 17352 Abbott Avenue in Port Charlotte, subject to ten staff-recommended conditions.

Senior Planner Elizabeth Nocek said the applicant had operated a building-trades/construction office on two lots with a prior special exception (2009) and later purchased three adjacent lots (Lots 1, 19 and 20) that were cleared without the required development approvals. Staff noted the current application followed a code-enforcement complaint and that clearing exceeded what a mulching permit allows.

To make the use compatible with nearby development, staff recommended and the board adopted conditions including: a mandatory Type D landscape buffer with a fully opaque six-foot fence or wall around the perimeter; limits on stored material heights (no more than 6 feet); prohibition on chain-link fencing as the required buffer; a prohibition on storage of hazardous materials; and a timeline requiring environmental permits within three months, final site-plan approval within one year, and completion of all inspections within two years. Staff also required that lots 1, 19 and 20 be cleared of existing outdoor storage within 30 days and not reused until final inspections or occupancy are issued.

The applicant indicated willingness to comply; a board member emphasized accountability for prior clearing and pushed for immediate removal of equipment should the board approve. The board approved the special exception with the full set of recommended conditions and set a one-year term (with provisions to preserve the approval if development commences before expiration).

The approval remedies the current code-enforcement case through conditional permitting while preserving the county's ability to enforce removal if conditions are not met.