Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Unpermitted Structure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board grants after-the-fact variance for accessory structure on pool deck, requires permits within a year
Summary
The board approved an undue-hardship variance allowing an unpermitted accessory structure to remain and be reconfigured into non-habitable storage with a knee wall; the approval carries five staff conditions and a board-added requirement that building permits be obtained within one year.
The Board of Adjustment approved a request to legitimize and reconfigure an existing unpermitted roofed accessory structure at 3535 Bella Vista Drive, despite an open code-enforcement stop-work order. Senior planner Gil Martinez told the board that the structure was constructed in 2023 without permits and is the subject of an ongoing code-enforcement case; staff recommended five conditions to address habitability, plumbing and inspections.
Attorney Martha Bolton, representing Mark and Lynn Broadick, said construction began during the COVID period with the architect understood to be handling permitting; work was halted after a neighbor complaint. Bolton and the homeowners said subsequent hurricane damage and personal hardship complicated the permitting process. She told the board relocation of the structure is not practical because the accessory structure sits on a permitted pool deck and a required pool retaining wall prevents moving it without substantial alteration to the pool area.
Staff recommended the enclosed area remain non-habitable storage, prohibited the installation of permanent HVAC or plumbing, required modification of the enclosed wall to a knee wall consistent with staff figures, required after-the-fact building permits and a site inspection by planning staff at final inspection. Board members wrestled with precedent concerns — noting other property owners have been required to remove unpermitted work — but ultimately concluded the testimony supported the undue-hardship criteria in this instance.
The board added a condition that required obtaining the necessary building permits within one year and approved case number 25147 with the amended conditions; the vote was unanimous (Members Small, Schmidt, Vice Chair Core, Member Kunzer and Chair Chase voted yes). Staff noted an administrative fee of $330 is recommended by code enforcement as part of closure.
