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11-16-1977 .. ...~ (.) o ,. , \ CITY OF EDGEWATER \ BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS PUBLIC HEARING November 16, 1977 Chairman Millard reconvened the meeting of November 9, 1977 that was recessed from November 9, in order to secure additional information and also to have the entire board present. The continued meeting was to consider and act upon the request of William W. Wright for an area variance .on his property to build a house. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. in City Hall ROLL CALL Neil Asting Jerry Fenske Lewis Lupinek Kenneth Mill a rd James Poland Present Present Present Present Present Mr. Wright and Mr. and Mrs. Akeley were present. Also Mr. and Mrs. Mackie, Mr. Wolf. Chairman Millard reminded Mr. Wright that he was still under oath. Mr. Wright has a contingency contract with Mr. Akeley, that if the variance is granted the land will be bought. Mr. Akeley had said at the last meeting that he would try to check about a sea wall. The setback from the river is a little less than required by law. Mr. Akeley said that he does not feel that this Board should be involved in the question of a sea wall. He will have to fill the property and bring ~he floor level up to meet requirements of the b u i 1 din g cod e . (- Chairman Millard stated that technically this variance was being requested by Mr. Wright and it would be on the grounds that he would present. He asked Mr. Wright if he had any further comments. Mr. Wright said that when he bought this property he made a special trip down here to be sure that this was a buildable property. He was assured at that time (1972) that this was a buildable property. This was before Ordinance 880 went into effect. Mr. Asting asked Mr. Akeley if he had found out about a sea wall. Mr. Akeley replied that he had not had the time. - There was more discussion about filling in the land, and the insurance in flooding areas. Mr. Asting asked Mr. Akeley if he planned on living in this house or if he was going to sell it after it was built. Mr. Akeley said that he planned to live in this house. Mr. Fenske said he didn't think they had to worry about a sea wall. Chairman Millard said that whoever builds on the property lacks about 900 sq. ft. According to the Ordinance and the guidelines, a Board of Adjustment is allowed to grant a variance where there is a practical difficulty and the owner here has a river in the backyard and it could cause an unnecessary hardship to compel a person to build a sea wall before he could build on the property and as a parallel the zoning is meant to provide against clustering of buildings. Obviously no house could be built behind this house. He doubted if the Board could require a sea wall. There is still sufficient space between this house and any other houses that could be built near it. I , / o Q Mr. Poland said that there is no question that Mr. Wright has the full area required by Ordinance 880. The question is whether or not .the Board of Adjustments will" approve a variance to create a non-conforming lot out of a conforming lot in usage and if the Board has a responsibility to assure that in the granting of a variance the Board does not put itself in a position of granting a variance that creates an unsafe condition. It has been said that is not the Board's responsibility, but he is not sure that he entirely agrees with that. In denying this variance the Board would not be telling Mr. Wright that he can't use the property but he does not feel that the Board should put itself in a position of approving an unnecessary variance. There is 215 ft. of property and by denying this variance we are saying that the requirements should be met on all sides, the front is for appearance, the back would be to protect them from the river. Building up the back with a sea wall would give the needed area. Chairman "Millard said that a sea wall as protection from hurricanes in his opinion is not relevent to the application. He naturally would hope that any builder would keep these things in mind but the request is for a variance and he feels that the applicant has a case of practical difficulty of going beyond 118 without having to build something. The Board is being asked to vote on whether that is a reasonable variance to grant. If there is any danger it would be covered in the building code and the building inspector is responsible for seeing that this building is built according to the code. If anyone feels that the code is not adequate they should go to the Council and "ask for a change in the Ordinance stating that building permits should not be granted on land that could be easily washed away in a storm. That is a completely valid point but it does not as yet exist in the Ordinance and we have to go by what exists. Mr. Wright also purchased this land prior to the existence of Ordinance 880. Mr. Asting said it did not see that this property was in any more danger than any other building on the river. Marie Nichols (audience) said that they had investigated a lot adjacent to this one and the State has taken the position that it is to be deemed a buildable lot. The Corps of Engineers says that an owner has the right to build as far out into the channel as his property goes. Chairman Millard said that the problem was with the Environmental Regulations they are not as lenient. is still not relevent to the request for variance. stated if there were no more comments he would ask Dept. of However that He further for a vote. The Board of Adjustment granted Mr. Wright his variance by a vote of 4-1. Mr. Poland voted NO. Chairman Millard said he would send a memo to the City Council for their action. If they agree with the Board's decision, a resolution granting Mr. Wright his variance will be issued. Mr. Wright and Mr. Akeley will receive copies of the resolution when it is issued. This part of the meeting ended and Chairman Millard requested that the members of the Board stay for a few minutes to discuss some business.. Chairman Millard asked if the members had read the letter from Mrs. Scavarda who was refused her request for variance and was now asking how far she could build a carport out in front of her property. He said that he "would answer the letter and state that the Board's decision stands. The meeting was adjourned. .