Commission Meeting Agenda Item

Applicant and owner, Erojas Investment Property LLC, has filed a variance application for a vacant parcel located at the northeast corner of South Highway 27/441 and Orange Street, adjacent on the west side to the Casa Montessori–Phase I Site, addressed as 309 Orange Street, identified by Alternate Key 2669241, within the Town limits of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida. The variance application is from Chapter 15, Article II, Section 15-52).a).2). C). which states that:

No commercial driveway shall be permitted with its nearest edge closer than 100 feet, or if lot does not have 100 feet then at the furthest point, from the edge of the nearest right-of-way line of an intersecting road classified as collector or arterial.

On June 26, 2017, Town Staff received a Major Modification to Site Plan application and plans submitted by applicant BranamJames Construction, LLC, on behalf of property owner, Erojas Investment Properties, LLC, for the construction of a new school building for a project titled Casa Montessori- Phase 2. During a regular Special Commission Conceptual Workshop Meeting held on July 2, 2018, the Town Commission directed the applicant to provide drop off facility accommodations for the school site. Since then, the Engineer of record has provided a revised Civil Plan, which requires further review and approval of a variance. In order to accommodate drop off facilities, the applicant is requesting to construct a commercial driveway along Orange Street. The variance request is to allow a driveway setback of 38 feet 2 inches from the intersection of South U.S. Highway 27/441 and Orange Street instead of the required 100 feet.

As required of this application, a Justification Statement has been submitted. The applicant has cited that Phase II was designed and submitted with a similar layout to civil plans that were once approved by the Town years ago for Phase II. However, in that the proposal is for a private school facility, it has been the preference of the Town Commission that school drop off facilities, including related variances, are provided and submitted for the safety of the children, families, and staff. Moreover, there will be a widening project along SR 500 (Hwy 27/441) programmed to commence on 2020 and no additional driveways will be permitted along SR 500, leaving very little room on the land to make any additional provisions for driveway location.

The school hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The applicant stated that the internal stacking of vehicles for drop off/pick up should not create an adverse impact in that the number of students at maximum capacity would be approximately 50 students; some of which may remain at the facility for after-hour day care and in some instances, multiple siblings are picked up by a family member. The Fire Inspector, Building Official, and Public Works Department reviewed the application. Please see TRC Report included in the packet.

When reviewing an application for a variance, the Planning and Zoning Board and the Town Commission shall consider the following requirements and criteria according to Chapter 3, Section 14 f) – Review criteria for variances in the Land Development Regulations:

No diminution in value of surrounding properties would be suffered.

Granting the permit would be of benefit to the public interest.

Denial of the permit would result in unnecessary hardship to the owner seeking it.

The use must not be contrary to the spirit of this Code.

Financial disadvantages or inconveniences to the applicant shall not of themselves constitute conclusive evidence of unnecessary and undue hardship and be grounds to justify granting of a variance. Physical hardships such as disabilities of any applicant may be considered grounds to justify granting of a variance at the discretion of the Town Commission.

The subject property lies in Section 29 Township 18 Range 24, Lady Lake Florida. The property is zoned “HC” (Heavy Commercial), which permits the construction of the proposed school site improvements. The Future Land Use Map designation for the site is RET (General Retail Sales and Services).

Subject Property Zoning: HC –Heavy Commercial

Zoning of Adjacent Properties:

Direction	Zoning Designation
North	HC – Heavy Commercial
East	HC – Heavy Commercial
South	ROW/ HC – Heavy Commercial
West	ROW/HC – Heavy Commercial

Notices to inform the surrounding property owners (4) within 150’ of the subject property of the proposed variance were mailed on Monday, October 29, 2018. The property was also posted on Monday, October 29, 2018.