Board approves garage addition variance on Wildwood Forest Drive with deed-record condition

The City of Wildwood Board of Adjustment on July 16 approved a variance allowing an attached-garage addition at 2300 Wildwood Forest Drive that would encroach into the 25-foot foundation setback and part of a 100% protected natural resource area. The board voted unanimously, 4–0, granting the request on the condition that a new deed (or recorded plot plan) reflecting the change be recorded.

Architect Joe Schlage, representing the owners, described site constraints and said the proposal would "take the NRPA that we have to encroach on and move it to the other side," explaining the plan as a swap that would disturb protected area on one corner while adding protected area elsewhere on the lot to conserve steeper slopes. The department’s presentation noted the site’s topography and supported the swap as a reasonable approach for the property’s size.

The department's staff report, entered into the record, showed the net changes identified by the petitioner: 3,973 square feet removed from one area and 3,989 square feet added to another (as described in the presentation). Director of Planning recommended approval with a standard condition that a revised plot plan be recorded so future owners can identify the altered resource protection line.

Neighbor and HOA trustee David Rudd testified in support of the request, stating the HOA and the immediate neighbor were in favor and confirming a vegetation buffer existed between the properties. The board moved to approve the variance on the condition the new deed/plot plan be recorded; the motion passed unanimously.

The approval includes the department's recommended standard condition that any altered resource protection line be documented in recorded materials for the property; the petitioner must follow local permitting and recording steps following approval.