Commission Meeting Agenda Item

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, property owner/applicant, Jennifer L. Pease, filed two variance applications for property addressed as 116 East McClendon Street, located approximately 950 linear feet from the intersection of W McClendon Street and South Highway 27/441, Lots 1 and 2 of the Rosemary Terrace Subdivision, referenced by Alternate Key 1260957, and owned by Jerry L. Pease Jr. and Jennifer L. Pease, within the town limits of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida.

The variance request is pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 5-4).e).4.)C).2).a)., of the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) which requires the side yard setback to another lot within the RS-6 Zoning District to be six feet. The variance request is to allow the side yard setback to another lot to be .40 feet from the property line to allow for an after-the-fact covered concrete/Carport encroachment to remain for property addressed as 116 East McClendon Street.

Background

In reviewing the Land Development Regulations, the reason for this variance is to address the west elevation side yard setback encroachment of approximately 5.6 feet and establish the west elevation side yard setback at .40 feet instead of the required six feet.

The applicant’s justification statement indicates several hardships for consideration pertaining to their situation. Even though the carport was constructed and installed by Lark Sheds of Leesburg, since a building permit was never submitted, there was not an opportunity to identify that the placement of the covered concrete/carport was encroaching into the side yard setback and was not in compliance with the Town’s setback requirements for the subject parcel.

The applicant has stated that there are no buildings, electrical lines, or houses close to the carport from any of the neighboring properties. Also, they verified that the covered concrete/carport sits at least 60 feet away from the neighbor’s house. There is an empty lot behind their property, and their house is on a large corner lot with plenty of open space.

The home was originally built in 1925 and only features 736 square feet of finished living area. A carport was needed for protection of valuables and security. They explained that the covered concrete/carport has been up for so many years, is in great condition, and all these years the applicants have never received a complaint from the Town or neighbors.

Lastly, the applicants want to rectify the issue, so they have requested for a survey to be performed on their property, have had several meetings in person with Town Staff and have been very cooperative with Town Staff throughout the process. The applicants have included letters of support and pictures of homes in their neighborhood to show the diverse styles of homes and properties in the vicinity. They indicated that great financial hardship would be placed on their family if they had to remove the covered concrete/carport structure as it ties to security and protection of work vehicles and tools. Mrs. Pease stated that she has been working as a school secretary for the Lake County School Board at Carver Middle for 22 years and her husband has been a wire-tech with HeatSinc for the past eight years. She concludes her letter by apologizing to the Town for what happened and her commitment to following up with any required paperwork and building permits to make things right.

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 and/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.

Notices to inform the surrounding nine property owners within 150’ of the subject property of the proposed variance were mailed on Wednesday, November 24, 2021. The property was also posted on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.