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Board approves large accessory building at 851 Barr Street after applicant concedes to guest-house classification
Summary
The board granted variances to allow a roughly 4,000 sq ft, two-story accessory building at 851 Barr Street after the applicant, Jessica Corrigan, agreed to accept the county’s guest-house classification despite earlier application text describing office/recreational space.
The Seminole County Board of Adjustment approved two variances for a large detached accessory building at 851 Barr Street on Tuesday, resolving a procedural discrepancy over whether the structure should be considered an accessory structure, a home office, or a guest house.
Planning staff (Hillary Payton) described two variance requests: an accessory-structure size variance from 50% to about 175.8% of the principal dwelling and a height variance from 13 ft 8 in to 28 ft 9 in to permit a two-story, 4,000-square-foot detached building with a 2,000-square-foot garage area and a 2,000-square-foot second-floor living/office area. Staff noted one adjacent property owner had submitted a letter of support.
Applicant Jessica Corrigan said the second building responds to flood conditions and the family's work-from-home needs: "we are building it to flood... we are taking on the water for the first floor" and said the intention is primarily office space and not a separate primary dwelling. Corrigan also said she did not apply as a guest house and had raised the discrepancy with staff prior to the hearing.
Board members and staff discussed the difference between an accessory structure, an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and a guest house; staff explained a separate structure used as a home office would not qualify as a home office (which must be inside the primary residence) and that classifying it as a guest house permits the applicant to seek the variances requested. The county attorney and staff advised the board that it must weigh the competent substantial evidence on the record against the variance criteria.
Corrigan agreed at the hearing to accept the guest-house classification so the board could consider the application that was noticed and on the agenda. After discussion the board approved the variances by voice vote.
What happens next: The applicant may proceed to building-permit review under the residential building code and must comply with any conditions placed on the permit; using the structure in a manner inconsistent with approvals could raise code-enforcement issues, staff warned.
