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Minutes 10-20-75MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUST~NT MF~TING P~LD ~T CiTY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, MOND.~Y, OCTOBER 20, 1975, AT 7:00 P.M. PREBENT Foy Ward, Chairman Alvin C. Boeltz, Vice Chairman David W o Healy, Secretary Vernon Thompson, Jr. Derle Bo Bailey Joseph Aranow Carl Zimmerman, Alternate ABSENT Robert Gordon Walter Rutter, Alternate Jack Aitken, Building Official Chairman Ward called the meeting to order at 7:00 P. M. and introduced the members of the Board, Building Official~nd Recording Secretary. MINUTES The Minutes of September 8, 1975 were read. Mr. Boeltz re- ferred to Page 3, third paragraph, and stated he would like to make a correction pertaining to ~. Scott's property which was non-conforming in 1962. He would like it to read that he was non-conforming by the 1962 City ordinance. Chairman Ward referred to the next line which states it did not have to come before the Board, but it should state: "should have come before the Board.t, Mr. Nealy referred to Page 1 where he was listed as absent and requested that it should be noted that he was excused. Chairman Ward agreed and stated it was his fault for not announcing that he was excused as he was still on vacation. Mr. Thompson moved that the minutes be accepted with the necessary corrections, seconded by Mr. Boeltz. Motion car- ried 7-0. Parcel #1 - Relief from 25' front and rear setback require- ments to 20~ front setback and 7' rear setback for construction of new home. Lot 24, Harbor Estates Recorded in Plat Book 21, Page 98 Palm Beach County Records Address - 819 E. South Road Applicant - Dorothy B. Brinkman ¥~. Healy read the above applicationand informed the members that the reason requested was that the other homes on the MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUST~NT R&GE TWO OCTOBER 20, 1975 street have been granted variances. The lot is not deep enough to build a normal sized house and meet the require- ments. He also added that all the requirements were attached. ~s. Brinkman appeared before the Board and requested that Mr. Clarence Clark represent her, as she intends to have him build the house for her. Mr. Aranow referred to the deed being dated ~ugust 20, 1975, and Mrs. Brtk~an becoming the owner six to eight weeks ago. He asked if she was aware of the lot being non-conforming when she bought it? Mr. Clark replied that the house pro- posed was a model house and she has a large family and this is the only size to accommodate it. Mr. Aranow asked if he told her there was a problem when she made the purchase? ~. Clark replied that he did inform her that a variance would be required, but all the lots have had variances granted. Chairman Ward questioned if all the lots were shallow in depth and Mr. Clark replied: yes. He continued that it is a nice home, a beautiful home and won't downgrade the homes in the area. ~i~ ' I ~ $ ~, Mr. Thompson questioned the dimensionsof the pro- posed house in square footage and Mr. Clark informed him that the living area would be approximately 1,500 square feet. Mr. Healy asked if Mrs. Brinkman was aware of this at the time she purchased the lot and Mr. Clark replied: no, Sir. Mr. Boeltz asked if all the houses were set back 20 ft. from the street and Mr. Clark replied that it was hard to tell with the hous~ along the street being so close. He added that this was a hardship as far as this house on this lot. Mr. Healy asked if there were vacant lots and M~. Clark replied: yes, one next door, but it is the back yard of the other house and also there is one across,the street on the waterway. Chairman Ward requested the secretary to read the correspon- dence pertaining to this application. M~. Healy read a letter from Mr. & Mrs. W. R. Gill, 844 East Drive, stating they have no objections. He then read a letter from Mr. & M~s. Herman Denning, 707 South Road, stating they have no objections to this request and would consider it an asset to the neighborhood with building on this empty lot. He then read a letter from Mrs. M~ry N. Hanser stating she was in favor of granting this variance. He then read a letter from Dr. & Mrs. Anthony Pascatti stating in their opinion, this vari~mce should be allowed as it will not interfere with the ~xisting neighborhood and should, enhance their property. He then read a letter from ~. & Mrs. Alfred Jackson, 664 North Road, stating they are willing for Mrs. Br~nkman to have a variance to build and feel she would be an asset to the neighborhood. Chairman Ward announced that these constituted six in favor per these letters or a total MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTME~ PAGE T~E OCTOBER 20, 1975 of eleven counting both husbands and wives. He then asked if anyone in the audience was in favor of this application. ~. Mike Brinkman stated his name and his address as 715 South Road and that he was in favor of it, Mrs. Thelma Denning stated her name and her address as 707 South Road and stated she was in favor of it. She added that when she wrote the letter, she didn't think she would be able to attend. Chairman Ward than asked if anyone in the.audience was op- posed to this application. ~. William Moesly~ii stated his name and his address as 802 North Road. He informed the Board that he goes along with everything, but the 7 ft. rear setback. That would be get- ting too close. He can go along with the front and sides. His back yard is 15 ft. If Mrs. Brinkman getsher variance for 7 ft. and someone else builds on the opposite side, there will be only 14 ft. between the houses. Chairman Ward asked if there was someone in the rear now and Mr. Mosel~y replied that there was. Chairman Ward questioned if that house only had 7 ft. and ~. Moseley replied that it would put the houses awful close together. He added that the alley should be kept open with water and power lines going through it. Mr. Van Merkel stated his name and his address as 716 North Road. He informed the Board that his father, Henry Merkel, Jr., owns this lot, but is out of state. He asked if the Board had received a letter from him and ~. Healy replied that they had not. Mr. Merkel asked if he could speak on his father's behalf and the members agreed. He stated that they also do not object to the front, but the rear variance is unrealistic. If someone else wanted to get a variance to add onto their present house, it would leave a 14 ft. corri- dor. This wouldn,t leave enough room for the utilities to get their equipment in for repairs. Not having seen the plans, he assumes they are not talking about a screened porch being 7 ft. from the property line. Mr. Clark showed and explained the plans. Mr. Ara~o'w noted that a 3 ft. easement was shown and Mr. Aitken informed them that it was 6 ft., with 3 ft. on each side. The members dis- cussed the easement and how the proposed house would be within 4 ft. of it. F~. Merkel continued that Mr. Blark hadpointed out that the side setbacks were 22 ft., rather than the minimum. It seems to him that they could put more of the house on the side and it would be like the houses there. He added that half of the width of the house in the back is a sc.reened porch and he does not think that would cut off air and would not be as detrimental as having a solid house so close. MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTI~NT PAGE FOUR OCTOBER 20, 1975 Chairman Ward suggested moving the house. ~. Merkel stated he did not object to 12 or 15 ft. setback from the rear line. He thinks most of the houses in there are that. Chairman Ward asked if there was any chance to get this and Mr. Clark replied that he would have to re-design the plan, He added that in checking the area, he found some houses going to within 3 ft. of the line. Chairman Ward suggested possibly moving it sideways and ~. Clark replied: no, they are talk- ing about making the house wider. Mr. Healy asked what the setback ~$ the house to the west was and Mr. Clark replied that it was approximately 25 ft. in theffront, but he did not measure it. Mr. Bailey questioned the rear setback and Mr. Clark informed him that it was probably 15 ft. as far as he could tell. ~. Mees~l~i~ added that the majority of the homes had 15 ft. in the rear. Chairma~Ward then requested Mr. Healy to read the written objections. He read a letter from Mr. & M~s. Philip Horne, 815 South Road, stating they felt the consideration should have bee~ taken. ~efore the purchase of the lot regardi~ the size house that could be erected. They feel this house will obstruct light and view from their house and will decrease property values. He then read a letter from Mrs. Mildred J. K~imi~!, Rev. J. Bradley and ~s. Elaine Y~r~!~~ stating they own Lots 11, 12 and 25, all adjoining Lot ~4. They urge that this request for variance be refused. They feel it will add to an appearance of congestion. They feelstrongly that the sum result would be to decrease the appearance of Harbor Estates and decrease property values. Chairman Ward referred to the letter from Mr. & Mrs. Horne and stated it was his understanding that ~. Horne was not living there. ~. Moas~ly!~- agreed, but added that he did own the property. Chairman Ward announced there was a total of eight written in opposition and eleven written in favor. ~. Aranow made a motion that the variauce be granted. Mr. Bailey seconded for the sake of discussion~. Under discussion, Mr. Bailey referred to this property being zoned R-1AA and having met all the requirements as far as lot size and house size; however, on the plot plan, it shows the house still does not conform even if the lot was the other way, because it is 53 ft. too long. He appreciates Mr. Moe~s!y~ concern of congestion with the houses being back to back at 14 ft. This~could set a precedent. As an example, one of the neigh- bors might desire to increase the size of the living area and it would be brought out that it was granted to Lot 24 and they should not be denied. He visited this area ~ud saw it was a hodge-pod~and not conforming, but it ~s a shame it was started this way. His personal feeling is if the house ~ould be altered 3 ft. in the rear, he would seriously con- sider voting for the variance. MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUST?~ENT P~GE F~TE OCTOBER 20, 1975 Mr. Thompson stated that he favors the 20 ft. front, but could not in good faith favor the 7 ft. rear. Other houses are 15 ft. and to set this back to 7 ft. is just unreal. He would be in favor if it were 15 ft. in the rear and 20 ft. in the front. Mr. Bailey added that the reasoning behind drop- ping the 3 ft. in the rear is, in his mind, justified by say- ing if the lot were 80 ft. deep~d 100 ft. wide, it would conform. Ne doesn't think it would be a hardship in the case of a 53 ft. house. Mr. Clark asked what the side setbacks would be on an 80 ft. house smd Mr. Bailey informed him it was 7½ ft. on the side. He added that he was talking about the depth of the house being 53 ft. Mr. Boeltz corrected him that the side setbacks were 10 ft. in R-1AA. i~. Healy stated that this had been changed and Mr. Aitken added that it was only under consider- ation for a change. Chairman Ward stated that it was no reflection on the Build- ing inspector, but it is entirely possible if this came up before the executive branch of the department, it would have been granted. Mr. Thompson questioned if he meant 7 ft. in the rear and Chairman Ward repli~ yes, on non-conforming lots. Mr. Healy stated if it was granted by the Building Department and the Board found out about it, he is sure they could have put a stop on it. Mr. Healy continued that he agreed with the other gentleman, that 7 ft. setback in the rear is really not enough. If you take a 7 ft. setback for a building line, you can put a porch out there. If the porch is 6 ft., you just leave 1 ft. He thinks he would be in favor of the front setback~ but not the rear, Mr. Clark informed him that he would have to have a permit to build a porch and Mr. Healy replied that he meant a patio and this would bring you so much closer to the house in the rear. Mr. Zimmerman stated he was a little worried about the uti- lities in the 3 ft. easement. He thinks that is a very narrow easement and there is no need to crowd too small of an easement. Chairman Ward remarked that'trucks very rarely travel the easements. Mr. Zimmerman questioned if there was ar~v chance of the electrical being ~uried in the future and Chairman Ward replied that if it was buried, the trenching machine is small. Mr. Healy added that they would still have 6 ft. and the average truck would make it. ~. Boeltz asked if it was possible to change this house and Mr. Clark replied that it was always possible to change any house. This is just laid out for a nice beautiful home. ~. Boeltz stated that the only trouble was that it didn't fit the lot. Chairman Ward informed him if there was a chance MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTh~NT PAGE SIX OCTOBER 20, 1975 he could change it, there is a po~hibility to have this tabled or they can go ahead and take a vote. Mr. Clark questioned if this meant he had to re-apply next month and Chairman Ward replied that he would not have to re-apply, but it would automatically be before the Board. I~M. Bailey pointed out that the lot was not going to conform to anything designed for it with the 80 ft. depth. He suggested possibly working out an amendment to the variance tonight. He sug- gested possibly amending the motion to accept the rear set- back at 10 ft. instead of 7 ft. Chairman. Ward pointed out that the plan would still have to be altered. ~M. Healy stated that he didn't think they had the power to do this, but he must re-apply. Also, the residents would have to be notified. The only way they could approve this would be to approve the 20 ft. variance in the front with 25 ft. in the remr without notification. Mr. Bailey disagreed stating he thought they could give a variance with amendments and have done it before. He doesn't see where this is different. Either they can make the amendment, ask ~. Clark for some suggestion, or go ahead and vote yes or At this time, Mr. Clark and ~'~s. Brinkman discussed the possi- bilities of changing the plan. Mr. Clark informed the Board that if it came down to being turned downmOn this variance, he could re-design the house for the 3 ft. Chairman Ward re- plied that he just explained that they could go this route. However, by tabling it, he would save the $50 fee to re-apply. Mr. Bailey asked if he had some kind of suggestion to amend this to and Mr. Clark replied that 10 ft. would be the mini- mum and he would just have to widen the house on the sides~ and re-design it. ~. Bailey stated that this didn't mean he was going to get the 10 ft. setback; don't feel if you alter it bF 3 ft., it will go through. ~. Clark stated he would take a chance on it not being passed that way. Mr. Bailey amended the motion to grant the variance for a 20 ft. front setback and 10 ft. rear setback. M~. Aranow stated he was satisfied. Under discussion, ~. Aranow referred to F~. Thompson indicating he had a suggestion to make and ~. Thompson stated he would just like to withdr~w his suggestion for 15 ft. M~. Healy statedhhe would like to place a restriction that no further construction be placed at the rear of the building, such as a patio, porch, or any other type of construction. ~. Aranow consented. M~. Bailey stated he felt they would have to apply for a variance to do this. Mr. Healy replied that it wasn't necessary for a patio. lcm. Healy moved that this restriction be placed on the variance if granted, seconded by Mr. Boeltz. Mr. Zimmerman questioned if this restriction ~ould be policed or would be within the confines of the Building Department. ~. Aitken suggested MI~UTES BOARD OF ADJUSTJ~.~NT PAGE SEVEN OCTOBER 20, 1975 rephrasing the restriction as they can pour a patio or the whole yard full of concrete, but no structure. Mr. Healy suggested stating covered patio. 'Mr. Aitken informed him that they would have to get a permit for anything they do. Mr. Bailey added that they would h~ve to come before the Board of Adjustment again and he felt the restriction was unnecessary. He continued that if they denied these people the right to construct a patio, it w~s not right. Mr. Healy stated again that he meant a struct~e with a roof and added that they have six objections~ which should be considered. Chairman Ward asked if Mrs. Brinkman and Mr. Clark were sat- isfied. Mrs. Brinkman re.plied that the screened area is in the house and she wouldn't ask for any more. Chairman Ward asked for a vote on the amendment, which was to change the rear setback from 7 ft. to 10 ft. Amendments_ Chairman Ward then requested a roll call vote on the motion. Mrs. Kruse conducted a roll call vote as follows: Mr. Aranow - Aye ~. Zimmerman - Aye ~ir. Boeltz - Aye ~. Healy - Aye Mr. Thompson - Aye M~. Bailey - Aje Chairman Ward - Aye Motion carried 7-0. Parcel#2 - Relief from 25' rear setback requirement to 17.9' rear setback to construct garage. South 30' Lot 10 & North45.02' Lot 11, Block 13, Rolling Green Ridge, Seacrest Addition Recorded in Plat Book 25, Page 22 Palm Beach County Records Address - 3201 Orange Street Applicants - Herbert L. Odell & Jane R. Odell Mr. Heaty read the above application. Mr. Bailey questioned the zoning and the members checked the map and noted it was R-1. Mr. Herbert 0dell stated his name and his address as 3201 Orange Street. The members looked at the plans. Mr. Odell presented a petition to the Board signed by people not object- ing. They discussed the location. Mr. Healy pointed out that he presently had a carport and questioned why he was not com- pleting the carport? ~. Odell informed him that both he and his wife have a car. He doesn't want to enclose the carport, MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUST~dENT PAGE EIGHT OCTOBER 20, 1 975 as it will cut off their ventilation. Also, he is a carpen- ter and needs the garage for storage. ~. Healy asked if other homes in the area had a reduced setback and Mr. Odell replied that the one directly behind him came to about the same, one two lots south is closer to the line, and one on Seacrest is as close. M~. Thompson asked what kind of struc- ture was planned and M~. Odell replied: concrete. Mr. Thompson asked how close the house behind him was Odell informed him it was approximately the same distance from the line as his house, but their extension goes back approximately 17 to 18 ft. of the line. Mr. Healy referred to an easement being there and ~. Thompson noted it was 6 ft. Mr. Healy clarified that he would have 1t ft. instead of 17 ft. Mr. Bailey asked if he purchased the house since 1962 and Mr. Odell replied: yes. Chairman Ward asked if this would be usedfor storage and Mr. Odell replied: yes, and parking his car. Chairman Ward ques- tioned if it would be used for living quarters and ~. Odell replied: no. i~m. Healy suggested placing a restriction that it be used for a garage and not living purposes. He continued that he mentioned this because there is a carport there al- ready and with a room in the back of the carport, it could be used in the future for living quarters. ~. Odell replied that this suited him fine. Chairman Ward asked if anyone present was in favor of this application and received no response. He then asked if any- one present was opposed and received no response. ~. Healy then read the petition submitted signed by eight people stating they had no objection to this variance. He added that they also had a notice signed by John McChandler. He stated there were nine people in favor. Mr. Boeltz checked the names on the list. Mr. Healy made a motion to approve this application with the restriction that it be used for a garage only and not living quarters. ~. Aranow seconded the motion. Under discussion, ~. Thompson stated he disagreed mwith the-restriction because if they grant the variance to build and if his family does increase, why can't this be turned into a bedroom? Mr. Boeltz replied that he could not do this. Mr. Aranow pointed out that even with the restriction, it didn't prevent them from coming back stating their family required it and requesting that the restriction be lifted. Actually, the restriction means before changing the occupancy of it, they must come back and apply. Motion carried 7-0. Chairman ~ard informed him that he would return his plan to the City Clerk. Mr..Aranow moved to adjourn,· seconded by Mr. Boeltz. Motion ~ar~ied 7-0 and the meeting was Droperly adjourned at 8'15