Zoning board approves setback variance for Windmill Harbor townhouse

At a meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m., the Beaufort County Zoning Board of Appeal unanimously approved a variance that will allow a townhouse to be built within the development’s current setbacks, provided the applicant meets county drainage and landscaping conditions.

William Dorn, a project manager for builder Patrick Joseph, told the board the lot is one of the last townhomes in the Windmill Harbor development and the new unit must adjoin an existing building. "So, it's pretty simple. We just wanna build what is existing in the rest of the development and join to that building to build the last unit," Dorn said.

County staff told the board the application could not be approved administratively because the proposed setback would be less than the required 20 feet. "We're only allowed to go to 20 feet, so we send them here," staff stated, and staff recommended that the board approve the variance only with specified conditions: install gutters, direct runoff to the identified discharge point, and provide a plant-back plan for the roughly 10-foot area at the rear of the lot.

Dorn told the board the applicant had already met with a landscape architect and that engineered site and planting plans would be prepared to meet the county's requirements. A member asked whether the proposed unit would be closer to the property line than neighboring buildings; Dorn said it would not.

Committee member (speaker 4) moved to approve the variance "as submitted, with the conditions that the county has requested on the drainage." The motion was seconded and the board voted in favor; the chair announced approval and the applicant was told the variance had been approved.

With no public comment and no further business, members moved to adjourn and the board closed the meeting.