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Atlantic Beach approves narrow setback variance for home generator needed for medical care
Summary
After a quasi-judicial hearing, the commission approved a reduced side-yard setback to allow a standby generator at 136 Ocean Forest Drive North, citing exceptional circumstances and prior permitting irregularities; the vote was 3-2.
The Atlantic Beach City Commission granted a variance on Jan. 12 allowing a residential standby generator to be sited closer to a side property line than the city's five-foot minimum for mechanical equipment. The appeal (APP 2057) came after the Community Development Board denied a similar request.
Applicant Mitch McHugh, who described himself as a contractor representing the homeowner, told the commission the family's mother relies on oxygen and that the home's configuration and prior permitting left no practical, code-complying alternative. "She is on oxygen," McHugh said, arguing that a run of gas and electrical connections made the proposed location the safest and least destructive option.
Staff presented site surveys showing an L-shaped lot and an earlier addition that, as built, left a 16.7-foot dimension that contributed to the current constraint. Neighborhood covenants and the HOA supported a screening solution and submitted a letter of approval.
Under Atlantic Beach code section 24-65(c), the commission can grant relief if certain conditions apply (irregular lot shape, exceptional circumstances, or owner'impact from regulations enacted after development). Commissioners who voted to approve the variance cited the lot'specific constraints and the emergency medical need as meeting those standards. Dissenting commissioners said the code'specified criteria were not satisfied and raised concerns about precedent and impacts on adjacent properties.
The motion to grant the variance passed by a 3-2 vote. The applicant must still obtain required permits, install required screening and ensure manufacturer'specified clearances for the generator and its enclosure are met during permitting.
