Zoning Board of Appeals - Regular Meeting

Starting off on a good note. Turn it. I am calling to order the March 2nd zoning board of appeals meeting. Uh let's see. I'd like to go over a few few things. Uh silence all phones. If you need to use it, please go out in the hall. You may leave after the once a variance request has been voted on. The limit for speaking is three minutes. The board must have four members to approve. The staff will introduce the agenda item. Questions for staff by board. Applicant called to speak to board if necessary. Questions for applicant by board. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Uh motion will be requested by chairperson and then we request a discussion and

then chairperson request staff to call the role for the vote. And with that I'm going to turn this over to Jack. What's your last name? Wedge. Wedge our new secretary. Oh no. With that, I'm going to say the first item on our agenda is the consideration of the January 5th, 2006 meeting minutes. Do I have Do we have a motion? Second. Second. All those in favor? I

I So, the minutes for the January meeting have been approved. Uh next on the agenda is election of chairperson and appointment of secretary. Now who does that? Okay. Uh item three, election of chairperson appointment of secretary. Uh section 772A of the city zoning regulations states that the board of appeals shall elect a chairman from its members who shall serve for one year or until reelected or until their successors are elected. The board shall appoint a secretary who may be a city officer, an employee of the city, a member of the planning commission or a member of the board of appeals. The chairman or in his or her absence the acting chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses by subpoena. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question or in the absence of failing to vote indicating that fact and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions all of which must be immediately filed in the office of the board and must be a public record. The last appointments for these positions were made March 3rd, 2025 for terms ending February 3rd, 2026. Staff recommends an election for the position of a chairperson to be held for a term to expire February 1st, 2027, the first Monday in February. Oh, sorry. Staff recommends that Jack Wedge be appointed as secretary for the zoning board of appeals for a term to expire February 1st, 2027.

And did we vote on that? Yeah, you can get a motion um and a second to carry out that request. Okay. Motion. Motion to approve. We'll do that in a minute. Right. I think the he recommended uh approval of his appointment. And so if they deal with that one, we can go back and take the nominations for the chair. Thank you, Chris. Yes, ma'am. Uh all right. Motion to appointment of Jack as secretary. Motion to approve. Second. Second. And does Jack call the role? Jack, you need to call the role. Sorry.

It's okay. Uh, calling role. Uh, Mr. Clawser. Yes. Mr. Calhoun. Yes. Mr. Simmons. Yes. Uh, Miss Morrow. Yes. I'm sorry. Mr. O' Calahan. Yes. Uh, Miss uh, Miss Harper. Yes. Uh, Mr. Mavine. Yes. All right. Um, congratulations. Oh, okay. Sorry.

So, now if we could open the floor for nominations for the chairperson of the zoning board of appeals for this next term. I nominate Miss Mororrow. Second. Any other nominations? Miss Marorrow, if I may um um close the floor for nominations for chair. All right. Um if there are no other nominations and no objection by um unanimous consent, we will um appoint Mrs. Marorrow as the chairperson for this term. Hearing none. So,

thank you. Uh, and now I turn the meeting over to Jack for our first variance. All right. Item number four, request for a variance from article 3, section 32. The applicant, Marian Prather Jr. with Property Holdings of Charleston LLC is seeking a variance from article 3, section 32, relating to the minimum driveway aisle width for the property addressed as 20116 Helm Avenue, Charleston County, TMS number 47014. We need to Oh, I'm sorry. That's okay. There.

My bad, y'all. Charleston County teams number 4701400239 in the B2 general business zoning district council district 8. Section 32 defines a drive as a paved or unpaved area allowing access from a street to a building and specifies that the minimum width is 24 ft. The applicant is seeking to build a mixeduse development on a 6750 ft 45- ft wide lot, which limits the possible building and parking configuration. Due to the limited lot width, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the use of a 16 ft wide driveway. The reduced width driveway is shown on exhibit one and was previously submitted to staff for preliminary comments. Per section 773 of the zoning regulations, the board must make the following findings to grant the variance. There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the partic particular piece of property. The applicant mentions the subject property is only 45 ft wide and that a 24 foot wide driveway aisle prevents circulation to the proposed residential units at the rear of the property. Staff notes that this lot measuring approximately 6750 ft and 45 ft wide along Helm Avenue is significantly narrow and that having a standardized driveway aisle of 24 ft for the parcel would take up more than half the width of the parcel where it is located. Accordingly, staff agrees that there is an extraordinary and exceptional condition pertaining to the property. Number two, these conditions do not generally apply to other to other properties in the vicinity. The applica the application states that the surrounding parals have at least 60 ft of frontage allowing for more room for driveway access and structures. Staff agrees that this condition does not generally apply to the other properties in the vicinity as many of the surrounding parcels generally measure at

least 50 ft wide and greater. Number three, because of these conditions, the applicant the application of the ordinance to the particular piece or property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the util utilization of the property. The application notes the circulation necessary for the commercial use would prohibit access to the residential units in the rear. Staff agrees that the 24 foot wide drive requirement does limit the ability to fully utilize a site due to the narrow width of the subject parcel. Number four, the authorization of a variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property or to the public good and the character of the district will not be harmed by the granting of the variance. The application notes that the granting of the variance will not negatively impact the surrounding properties. is the public good or the character of the area in which the property is located. The application states that in fact a developed mixeduse parcel would be would actually be a positive influence on the surrounding neighborhood. Staff agrees that the granting of the variance would not negatively impact the neighboring parcels and that the character of the district will not be harmed by the granting of the variance. Staff believes uh staff believes the limited width of the subject parcel does constrain the development of the site and is an extraordinary and exceptional condition that does not generally apply to other properties in the vicinity. Staff also believes that the granting of the variance would not be of detriment to nearby parcels or the public good and the granting of the variance would not harm the character of the district. Additionally, staff notes the fire department was consulted regarding the variance application and they did not object to the reduction of the drive width to 16 feet. Accordingly, staff recommends approval of the proposed variance. A copy of the staff report was emailed to the applicant on Wednesday, February 25th.

Thank you. Uh, any questions for staff by the board? Uh, does the applicant wish to Okay. Thank you. Any questions for the applicant? Uh motion.

Second. Discussion by the board. I agree with staff recommendation. Um, I think the 24 foot drive requirement is a barrier to infill development on these narrower lots. And I'll note here in the report, it says the fire department uh did not have an issue with granting the variance. So, any other discussion? Uh, by motion made and seconded, you may call the role.

All right. Uh, a motion to approve a variance from article 3 section 32 relating to the minimum driveway width uh for for a driveway aisle for the property addresses 2016 Helm Avenue. I have to repeat like all the TMS numbers and everything. I'm sorry. Okay, my bad. Um, all right. Uh, Mr. Clawser, yes. Mr. Calhoun, yes. Mr. Simmons, yes. Miss Mora, yes. Mr. O' Callahan, yes. Miss Harper, yes. Mr. Mine,

yes. And your variance has been approved, sir.

And the next variance. All right. Item five, requests for a variance from article 6, section 64, paragraph B3. The applicant, Carver Maritime, is seeking a variance from article 6, section 64 B3, relating to the minimum sideyard width for the property addressed as 1212 9th Street, Charleston County, TMS number 400 00001 91 in the M2 Heavy Industrial Zoning District, Council District 10. Section 64B specifies the setbacks for M2 zone properties. For front yards, the required setback is 50 ft. For sideyards, 100 ft, and for rear yards, 50 ft. Section 32 defines a sideyard as a yard extending the full length of the lot in the area between the side lot line and a side building line. Site currently has a currently has a building on site that the applicant would like to demolish and construct a larger building for indoor storage of raw materials. Accordingly, the applicant is seeking a variance to reduce the minimum sideyard requirement from 100 ft to 50 feet. Per section 773 of the city zoning regulations, the board must make the following findings to grant the variances. One, there are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property. The application states, "The extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to this property is that Carver Maritime needs the additional 50 ft along the side property line along TMS number 400000000120 in order to construct a building to store critical materials for the state of South Carolina and the surrounding region. Staff notes the subject parcel is a very peculiar shape. Sorry. Says a very peculiar shape is split zone between M1 light industrial and M2 heavy industrial and that the subject sideyard is located in the portion of the parcel that is zoned heavy industrial. Zap believes that the shape staff believes that the shape of the parcel is an extraordinary

and exceptional condition pertaining to their particular piece of property. Two, these conditions do not generally apply to other properties in the vicinity. The application notes that other properties in the area do not provide the same service of storage of raw materials. Staff notes that many of the other properties in this area are not currently abiding by minimum sideyard requirements and that many of the other sites located nearby do not have the same peculi peculiarities in their lot shapes. Three, because of these conditions, the application of the ordinance to to the particular piece or property would would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property. The application notes the zoning regulations restrict the ability to store critical materials within an indoor environment. Staff agrees that the minimum sideyard requirement of the parcels constraining in comparison to many of the neighboring parcels as well as portions of the subject parcel itself due to the varying setback requirements stemming from the parcel being split zone and the property having a an irregular shape without any public right-of-way frontage. Number four, the authorization of a variance shall not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property or to the public good and the character of the district will not be harmed by the granting of the variance. The application states the granting of the variance will not negatively impact the adjacent properties. The application also notes many of the properties on the former Navy base near the subject parcels serve as heavy industrial companies as well. Staff agrees that due to the industrial nature of the area and close proximity to the port, granting of the variance will not be of substantial detriment to the adjacent properties or public good and the character of the area will not be harmed. Staff finds that the odd shape of the lot and various setback requirements that the parcel has due to being split zoned are extraordinary and exceptional conditions limiting the usable area of the property. Staff also notes many of the properties in the vicinity lack the same issues and that granting that a granting of the variance would not be a substantial detriment to the surrounding properties or public good and the character of the district would not be harmed. Therefore, staff recommends approval of the variance. A copy of the

staff report was emailed to the applicant on Wednesday, February 14th. Thank you, Jack. Uh would the applicant like to Oh, go ahead.

Any questions for the applicant? One for staff actually. Is there an exhibit showing where on the site this? Yeah. So, it's kind of if you can kind of see the exhibit that they submitted here. Um, right there. That's where the And then if I go back, if you look kind of like to like the left top port of the site. Um, yes. Right where Miss Morrow's finger is pointing. Yeah. Okay. Yes. Got it. Yeah. I couldn't tell the context from that enlargement. Yeah. Sorry,

this took me a little while to figure out, too. But I mean, it's because you had it took me five minutes to find out where this was on a map, and finally I found the two of these because that's the only way to find it. So, okay. Um, thank you. Any questions? All right. No questions for them. Any questions for staff? Motion. You said motion to accept. Second.

Okay. And Jack, will you call the role? A motion to approve the variance from article 6, section 64 B3 relating to the minimum sideyard requirement for the property addressed as 1212 9th Street. Uh, Mr. Clawser. Yes. Mr. Calhoun. Yes. Mr. Simmons, yes. Miss Mororrow, yes. Mr. O' Callahan, yes. Miss Harper, yes. Mr. Meline, yes.

Your variance has been approved. Please do not leave yet. Board members, we have one more thing we have to do, but you you guys may leave. Thank you. We have a unified development ordinance update that should have been done in January but then we didn't have our February meeting. So now we are going to do this. Good evening uh zoning board. Um I don't know how many of you are aware but I know at least one person is uh about the city's project to rewrite our zoning ordinance. Um we have brought on code studio as a consulting group as well as a local uh contingent of experts to help the city completely rewrite our development code. So that includes the zoning ordinance, the street code, the subdivision rags, etc. In February, staff held a kickoff workshop with the project team to review the project goals and vision, tour the city, and begin discussion of land use and other issues needing attention during the UDO drafting. Uh in March, we will continue to meet with that consulting team to discuss land use issues concerning the city, to identify sites for testing potential new zoning code requirements, to address those issues, and to develop an engagement strategy. Uh while the date for the public kickoff of the UDO is not yet determined, uh it will be scheduled within the next month or two. The date will be provided as soon as it's determined and uh we would like input

from all concerned citizens uh including board members here. So uh if you have any questions uh you know feel free to reach out to us as uh the planning team. you know, we're responsible for for the zoning of the city and we'd love to answer questions and just talk to you all as uh representatives of the city. Uh you know, people might know what you do and might be interested to find out what's going on and hopefully you'll be advocates for for the project. So, any questions right now, I can do my best to answer them, but otherwise, we'll let you guys go.

Okay. Thank you.

Yes.

Okay.

No. Well, the first one. So, what we what we'll do is we'll get bits and pieces to be reviewed and then once we have a fully compiled document, we'll do a complete reszone of the city. Yeah. Okay. We're not keeping bits and pieces.

The intent is to completely rewrite admin and procedures and things along those lines. And the timeline for this project,

uh, it is a slightly condensed timeline. Uh, the intent is to have the new document in place and adopted by city council by June of 2027. sir.

Uh it will be dependent I we as staff have standing meetings set up weekly bi-weekly depending on the part of what we're working on right now. Uh we do have stakeholders uh and a steering committee being put together. Uh so when and our engagement program has not been fully fleshed out. When that starts being pulled together that we will be putting that information out uh pushing it as hard as we can because we want to reach out to the communities to the city to the residents and make sure that everybody who has a concern can be heard so that those things can be addressed. that you've done a great job.

And thank you all board members. Meeting adjourned. Gavl us out adjourned. Awesome. Uh 5:24. Thanks.