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Charlotte County board denies special exception for granite display yard at South Access Road
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals denied Marcelli Enterprise’s request for a special exception to allow outdoor storage/display of granite and marble slabs at 4017 South Access Road, citing long-running code violations, incompatibility with the commercial corridor and nearby residences, and doubts about the applicant’s willingness to comply with conditions.
The Charlotte County Board of Zoning Appeals on April 9 denied a special exception requested by Marcelli Enterprise Inc. to use property at 4017 South Access Road in Englewood for a building trades contractor’s office with outdoor storage and display of granite and marble slabs.
Staff planner Elizabeth Nocek told the board the roughly 1.303-acre site has been used without permits and has an active, consolidated code-enforcement case dating back to 2020. Nocek said staff’s professional opinion is that outdoor storage of stone slabs on a principal commercial corridor is incompatible with the county’s commercial design standards and the surrounding mix of residential and commercial uses. Staff cited closed and consolidated enforcement cases (including COD-20-02813, COD-22-02481 and COD-24-01280), aerial evidence of clearing and expansion since 2021, and the absence of required environmental and building permits.
The zoning official, Sean Coleman, told the board the property’s noncompliance led to a magistrate order signed Aug. 7, 2024, and that the applicant was facing accrual of fines of $500 per day for continued violations. Coleman and county legal counsel reminded the board that granting a special exception would not, by itself, erase the magistrate’s findings or remove enforcement exposure; approval would allow the applicant to pursue site-plan review, after which enforcement triggers would be revisited if conditions were not met.
Mary Sprague, P.E., the applicant’s engineering representative, argued the stone slabs are a retail display rather than generic storage and that customers must see full slabs to select color and pattern. Sprague asked the board to allow permitting to proceed and requested flexibility on timeline requirements so the owners could complete the site-development approvals. Bridal Pardee, the contractor representing the Marcelli Group, said the owners retained counsel and design professionals after being notified of fines and that they intended to pursue compliance.
Even though staff outlined a set of recommended conditions that would have required screening, paving, removal of existing unpermitted storage and limits on use until final inspections and certificates of occupancy are issued, board members expressed concern about the applicant’s history of noncompliance and the visual impact of outdoor storage along a major corridor. An unidentified board member moved to deny the petition based on the staff report; the motion carried.
Next steps: the record shows the consolidated code-enforcement matter remains active and that the case was scheduled to return to the magistrate on May 7, 2025. The denial means the applicant would need to remove or remediate the existing unpermitted storage or seek alternate remedies through the county’s permitting and enforcement processes.
