Board of Zoning Appeals - Regular Meeting

Board of Zoning Appeals for North Myrtle Beach. We go ahead and call the meeting to order. And Miss Smith, if we can get a roll call, please. Chairman Mcon here. Andy Thomas, present. L here. Joe Reeves here. Cynthia Loverin Wise here. Melissa Wolver here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Um if take a a second there and if you can review the minutes and after reviewing if we can get a motion to approve. Mr. Chairman, I had a chance to review the minutes. I make a motion that we approve uh boarding on appeals minutes October 9th, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Bell. Do we have a second? Second.

Second for Mr. Weise. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Great. Mr. Cowwell, um, do we have any communication from the city? Uh, no. Just a little bit of information though. Um, BCA 2538 on your agenda has been uh removed by the applicant. She's going to bring her property into compliance. Um, BCA 2539 application by David Cook. Mr. Cook lives in Kentucky and um will be at the December meeting. Okay. Not tonight. Great. And that's all. Great. Which one was the other one? Um the second one was 2539. Number three on under new business. Okay. And the first one, I'm sorry, I didn't hear it. The first one was number two under new business.

Okay. That's been uh removed by the applicant. Okay. Great. Thank you. And Miss Smith, if we can go ahead and get um any questions for the city. Ben, you're just saying you're just informing us he's in Kentucky. Yes. Okay. Yeah, he'll be here uh at your regular December meeting. We're not removing it from the He he drove he drove to the last meeting. I had left him a message, but I think they had already left when I left him the message. So, they they got here earlier this month for your regularly scheduled meeting. Yeah. Great. Thank you, Miss Ka.

And okay, um let's move on to um a item A. Can we, Miss Smith, if we can go ahead and get everyone uh sworn in that's planning on speaking? Okay. Please rise and write raise your right hand. Do you solemnly state under penalty of perjury that the evidence you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? You may have a seat.

Great. Thank you. Okay, we'll move on to new business. Item number one on the agenda, we've got BZA25-26, an application by Kyle McCracken for a varance to cut a tree exceeding 24 in at 1771 Zenith Street. Is someone here to speak on that matter? Yes, sir. Come on up and introduce yourself. Give us your address, your name and address, please. Um, I'm Tommy Holt. I am the agent for Chris Manning Communities on this property. I'm with G3 Engineering. Okay, great. Thanks. Tell tell us uh tell us about it.

We were in for a previous um BZA meeting and the question came up to whether if the subdivision had been approved by planning commission yet. It had not. We've since been approved by planning commission. Uh so this is kind of the last piece of the puzzle for us is to uh see about getting this variance on this one tree. It's a cedar tree that needs to be removed. Okay. And has that tree been cut? No, it has not been cut. Okay. Cuz we have we had one that have been cut. I'm just trying to We try not to cut them until you guys tell us we can. Good. Great. Thank you. Um, anything else you want to add that question?

I don't think so. I said we we did a pretty extensive planning plan to to try to accommodate, you know, the trees that we did take down to mitigate some of those trees. Um, and we've met all of the city standards and codes on this. Um, and so it's really we're just asking for this one tree to be um to give us the release to cut this one tree because we couldn't make it work with the some of the storm water requirements that are there. Um, the area that this tree is located in, we're having to bring in a good bit of field dirt uh to accommodate for storm water. And you can't bring in more than 18 in of dirt around an existing tree. it's going to kill it anyway. Um, so that's the the main reason that we had that that we're asking for the the variance here.

Okay, great. Thank you. Any questions for the applicant? Is a tree is a tree located in the utility ement? You got some dotted lines on the uh No, it shouldn't be located in any any of the utility easements. There was I I and I don't have it up here, so I'm not looking at what you're looking at there. You got a lot. You got the lot and then you got some dotted lines on each side of like lot six, lot five is what it looks like. Mhm. Is that an easement? I think that may be a storm water easement. Let me see what you're looking at there to be sure. Is it the circle tree? Mhm.

Yes. That that that's a a storm water drainage easement over those properties there. We have a set of catch basins in the roadway there and that outlet goes in between those two lots to the pond back there. Okay. Great. Any other questions for the applicant? Give a second. We're going to hear from the city and we'll be back with you.

Petitioner Tommy Holt has submitted has applied to remove a tree in excess of 24 caliber in at 1771 Scenith Street. The tree is a 30-in cedar. Trees exceeding 24 caliber per inches shall only be removed upon approval by the board. The board is charged with setting a suitable tree replacement schedule. City council has also approved a tree bank where individuals can pay $300 per caliber per inch of required planting. Staff recommends that the board review the variance application, hear the evidence presented at the meeting, and review section 2368. Great. Thank you, Mr. Calwell. Any questions for the city?

Does that easement, Mr. Called will prevent is that like restrict their utilization of that lot at all? That that utility easement drainage. Oh, I gave him my drawing. Uh what was the question again? I'm sorry. Does that utility easement kind of restrict their usability of that lot? Because you got that easement there. What's their what what what restricts them on their building? It looks to be about a 10-ft easement. Is that right, sir? Yes. 20 foot

20 foot tote. So, so it does. Yes. Regularly the setback would be 5 foot on the side, but this is going to require it to be at least 10t off the side property line for the building setback. Okay. So, all right. So, would you say that would be your hardship? Hardship along with the the the storm water requirements. Like I said, us having to bring in that dirt to make that lot buildable to get it up above the the 25 year storm event. Okay. That's where we're at. Okay. Thank you. Would it even survive? Yeah, I think that's what the Yeah, exactly. Yeah, there's no way it survives. Yeah,

you know, we Good question. I think this is a perfect example of something that's an easement that we It's going to kill the tree anyway. So, let's make sure we do a good job trying to bring some trees back in um in this community. So, you know, any other questions for the city or the applicant? any recommendations on um do y'all have a tree replacement schedule for this planning this development? You do? Um generally we don't get a landscaping plan for single family developments. Um I don't know was anything prepared?

Okay. All right. Would you be opposed to recommending like two 7 and 12 inch cedars to be replaced for that? We have actually replaced several more than that. I don't know. I guess a landscape plan. So that landscape plan included the removal of this tree. Yes.

Okay. And I think if since we're cutting this tree down over and above what the standards are, is there a way that we can add some trees over and above what is you know what they're I think two and a half. We did actually we took what was required and we actually overplanted that.

Okay. I mean we don't unfortunately we don't have your tree mitigation plan so we don't know what you're doing to replace that. Um but we can definitely work off that. It's not a problem. Yeah. Mr. Carwood talking about that. Yeah. What do you all think about, you know, what he has what he has to uh meet the requirements, but then taking this tree down, planting some additional trees so we come back and replace that tree. Are we capable of giving you u what you all need so that we do that? Yeah. Okay. Not sure how you want to. That's fine. I don't I'll make a mo I don't make a motion. Okay. Yeah. If you're ready for the for that. Yes, sir.

All right. Let me get my stuff in order. Mr. Chairman, I move that the board grant variance BZA25-26 because the applicant has demonstrated unnecessary hardship. Specifically, there are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to this particular piece of property which are the utility easement on the property and also the grade that will be required for the uh drainage easements. These conditions do not apply to the other properties in the vicinity. Because of these conditions, the application of the ordinance of particular piece of property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property. The authorization of the variance would not be of substantial detriment to adjacent properties or to the public good and the character of the district would not be harmed by the granting of the variance. I do ask that the applicant consider at least 15 in of replacement cedar tree back on the property. Not that property, but in the development itself.

Thank you, Mr. Bell. Uh, do we have a second? A second. We got a second by Mr. Reeves. Reeves. Any discussion? All in favor? I Eyes have it. Thank you. All right, let's move on to um item number three on the agenda. Do we need to um postpone that? I'll make a motion just to have it on record. U Mr. Chairman, I move that we post home variance BZA25-39 to our next scheduled meeting in December. Great. Thank you, Mr. Bell. Do we have a second? Second.

Got a second um for Miss Wwood. Um any discussions? All in favor? I I got the next item on the agenda. Um we've got item number four, BZA 25-30. We have an application by John Russo for a 10-foot variance of the 10- foot rear yard setback requirement for proposed screened enclosure at 2200 via PMA Drive zone PDD in the plan development district. Mr. Russo. Yes, sir.

Hi, John Russo. 2200 Vipma Drive. Um, so this is a continuation of uh we were in before a few months ago and um the situation is we are our our lot is unique to its location in that we're in what I'll call the sweet spot of golf balls getting, you know, pummeled with golf balls in in our yard. Um, we built the home 3 years ago and we had an occasional ball or two, you know, hit the house and and entered the pool and and that golf ball traffic has significantly increased with um some trees being removed by the HOA and also by some homeowners on the um that are adjacent to me. So, we're at the point now where we're just getting so much traffic, it's it's it's, you know, not safe. And again, the the lot is is very unique in its in its location because of where it is in proximity to the to the golf course. Um there's really maybe one other house that's that's next to me that has the same situation or similar situation, but but that gentleman's house is kind of tucked behind my house. So my our house will get the get the brunt of those balls. Um, you know, we have uh the 10-ft setback. So, we have we built a pool at the time of of the home and um you know, there's a fence around the pool and that fence sits approximately 2 foot off the property uh rear, you know, off the property line. The HOA has approved the um the LAI. They they approved it for homes along the perimeter of the of the golf course. So the HOA has full approval. They were here accompany

accompanying me with at the last meeting uh along with the contractor. Um so they have uh you know no problem with with the lenai going up at 10t. Um if I were to be 10 foot that lai would physically sit inside the pool because of how it's you know how it sit how it how it sits. So um so that the lenai is going to be inside that that fenced in area which which sits about approximately 3T off of the um off of the property line. So you know the ask the ask is that we can put this uh lenai up for for mainly safety reasons. Um and and uh that's it. I I also in doing some research I I understand that that zoning has the ability to approve if if the if the lot is unique to its location and so my request is that the hardship is that it is unique to its location and I ask that you approve.

What's unique about it? It's unique in that where it where it sits on the fairway of the of the golf course, it it literally a a drive at 200 or between 220 yards, it'll it'll it'll if it's pushed a little bit um right, it'll it'll hit in the yard. And like I said, there used to be a buffer of trees um along the way, but those trees have since been pruned out. So, it's I mean it's just it's getting significant, you know, golf ball traffic and like I said, the HOA has approved. Um,

great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. R. So, is there any other questions for the applicant? So, we're looking for a 7 foot easement. Is that what 7 foot over the line or is that what we're looking at? I'm just to be clear. It's actually would be the the lenai would sit 3 foot from the property line approximately 3T which is inside the fence which is approximately 2 foot from the property line. So it's inside that fenced inside that fenced area that exists already and and again the I'm sorry to be repetitive but the HOA was okay with it. Great. Thank you. Any other questions? M give a second Mr. Russo and we're going to hear from the city. Sure. Thanks.

Petitioner John Russo has submitted an application for a 10-ft variance of the required 10-ft rear yard setback at 2200 via Palman Drive zone PDD plan development district. The Tuscan Sands neighborhood PDD amendment requires a minimum 10-ft rear yard setback for unheated pool enclosures. The applicant would like to have the pool enclosure built on the back of the house. The proposed pool enclosure would encroach 10 foot into that setback. Pool enclosures that are required to meet I'm sorry. The applicant did not apply for a sideyard setback variance. There's plenty of sideyard available and provide the sideyard setback needed. Staff recommends that the board review the variance application and attach plot plan, hear the evidence presented at the meeting, and review the ordinance provided.

Great. Thank you, Mwa. You're welcome. Any questions for uh the city? So, it says that the PDD amendment requires a minimum 10 foot rear setback for an unheated pool. What is it for a heated pool? Uh, did I say heated pool? It said no, it says unheated. So, if it were unenclosed pool enclosure pool enclosure has to meet the 10 foot setback. Yeah. Yeah. But it says unheated pool. And if you look, it says the 10. It doesn't say anything about a heated. What if the pool?

Oh, well, like so screen enclosures can encroach within the 20 foot set or within to that 10-ft setback. If it's if it's not um if it's like a condition space with windows instead, then it has to be set back farther. Okay. Gotcha. Okay. So, okay. Not the pool itself, but the enclosure itself. The enclosure. Okay. Being being unheated. Gotcha. Any questions for the city or the applicant? Have Have y'all discussed with city council about amending this PDD to allow

staff wouldn't take the position to request that? Um, that would be up to the property owners or or a property owner even in that neighborhood can request that, but I don't think they wanted to go that route. the HOA maybe didn't want to do that.

Actually, the the HOA did put did put it up for vote. Um but the problem is the the within the HOA um guidelines you have to get a 2/3 majority vote of the neighborhood and no votes or absentee votes count as no votes if so they didn't get the required amount of votes in the community to approve the the the amendment to that 10 foot side back

and you excuse me so you said there were trees in the front of your house before and they cleared. How much of that was um I mean give us an idea. I'm looking at a picture here. They was it covered with trees or could you did they knock all the trees down or

No. So what happened is um in the in the rear of the the lot behind where the lai would go adjacent kind of parallel to the to the fairway there were you know maybe a dozen or two trees and probably half of those trees were removed and pruned and cleaned out cleared out by by the golf course and in the HOA and that pruning of those trees increased the they used to act as a a barrier here and they used to really kind of take the brunt of the the golf ball traffic preventing preventing them from hitting the home. And since they've been cleared um it it's just increased significantly.

Thank you. What do y'all think? HOA. Could that be something that's unique to the property if his prop if his situation changed? Um, I think if we go down every line item and see if it checks the boxes we've got with the five six items, five items six. We take a look at them and see if we're meeting those requirements. You want to go over them? I'm going to go over them for us real quick again. What's that? So, it has to be irregular shape, smaller in the nature, elevation issues, restriction of the use.

What was that one? The the it has to be smaller than nature, elevation issues, irregular shaped, and then um some something that can restrict the use that's beyond the scope of the applicant like that. utility easement that we just had. Things of that nature. I don't see any of those here. Mm-m. It's a tough problem run into. I sympathize, but kind of struggle too with the fact that they can't get the HOA can't get enough applicants to make the amendment for that neighborhood also, right,

for Tuskin Sands to have that conversation with city council to allow the PDD to be amended. Right. You can't use the restrictive use from a safe the land use. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Maybe the land was had changed so it would change the restricted the use of it, but that's kind of reaching. Ben, do you know what the minimum minimum lot size is in Tuscan Sands? I do not off the top of my head. Do you know what the minimum lot size is in your neighborhood?

We're at point8, I think. I'm showing you got 8276 for your square feet for the lot. I don't know if that's that sounds right under or not. Um if we knew it was under that. Yeah, that would be a big help for you. There wouldn't be any unders sides lots in there because they've been they they were given development standards and they had to meet all those standards for us to approve the subdivision. So we would have checked that. I would think so. It's it's not grandfathered of any nature. Yeah.

Mr. Russo, you can come up come up to the mic. We all understand your situation, but we've got to file a legal uh defined legal uh uh we got to check some boxes along the way here. And I think that's where where everybody's looking at. We understand, we agree with you, but we don't have we're trying to find that how how we can. And right now we don't have that. Yeah, I I understand. I mean, like I said, I um I mean, if the physical characteristics aren't unique as I describe them, I I don't know what else to say. I I would think that they are certainly unique to the lot situation and where in where that lot is located in proximity to the golf course. I I don't know what else to say if if the board doesn't feel that that's the case. And we and really the one the extraordinary and exceptional conditions of the lot. We're looking for a differential in height, size, um I mean elevation rather not height but elevation.

Yeah, it's I understand it's it's unfortunately you get to item number two when there are some unique scenarios. You know, you're on the golf course and there is a safety issue and but we got to have something the issue has to be with the size of the lot, the elevation of the lot, the shape of the lot. That's our problem.

Yeah. So, and I I think this is something you should take to and I'm just speaking as one one person up here, but I think it' be something to take to city council because you you know, seeing if they they do want to do that. So, but us right now, we've within the parameters we have. We'd love to help you, but it it's a challenge right now. We're not checking the boxes and we have to understood. Uh so what is my next course of recourse for lack city taking it up with city council because like I said we have a grandbaby living with us and the backyard is essentially not usable for us right now with that pool. It's a safe somebody's going to get somebody's going to get hit with a ball. My wife already did.

Yeah. So um I would think safety would trump kind of all but I guess it doesn't. So I'd like to take it up with city council. Okay. That's who you take you take the safety issue up with them and can maybe get some traction because all we have to go on is the land. Yeah, I understand. I I I Yeah, and I totally agree with the safety issue because I live on the golf course and some trees have been cut down in my backyard. We do get a little more than we used to also. So, I get it. So, yeah.

Would you rather us vote no or would you rather us withdraw it from the agenda? Because if we vote no, you have a waiting period that you could reapply if something were to change or you found a hardship that you could bring back in front of us. Yeah. I suppose the latter withdrawing is I would I would suppose that that's best at this juncture. I would withdraw. Yeah. Okay. That way you don't have any anything because if not there's a waiting period. Yeah. Absolutely. So with that being said, Mr. Chairman, I would make a motion that applicant has suggested we withdraw BZA item 25-33 from our agenda on November 24th, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Bell. Do we have a second? Second.

And a second for Mr. Weise. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Yeah. Sorry. I We want to say Yeah. I mean, we want to trust me. Yeah. and maybe reach um Jerry Mccumby's a new the person representing your uh Barefoot and Windy Hill and and the whole city of North Myrtle Beach. I'd reach maybe reach out to her and then you could show her and then they could take it and look at your case. Okay. And hopefully get some movement. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Second, uh Mr. Weiss. Okay. Any other discussions? Can we get a motion to close the meeting? Have a motion to adjurnn. Thank you, Mr. Reeves. Do we have a second? Second,

got a second from Miss Wilbur. All in favor? I Great. Thank you.