Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

VA-16-05-041 — NEIL KLAPROTH, AGENT FOR PULTE HOMES

Request: Variances in the P-D zoning district to allow the following signage: 1) A total of 1,007.5 sq. ft. of copy area of construction signage in lieu of 64 sq. ft.; and, 2) Construction signage with a setback of 0 ft. in lieu of five (5) ft. (Note: The sign is a mesh shade cloth attached to an existing construction fence as a dust guard, which has 1,598 of linear frontage on the Palm Parkway. This application is the result of code enforcement action.)

Decision: Denied

Hearing: The applicant owns a 77.5 acre residential P-D fronting on the Palm Parkway. They were required to erect a five (5) foot high fence and install shade cloth as a dust barrier. In doing so, the applicant chose to place: an artist's renditions of the new community; their company logo; the email address to receive information on the new community; and, the anticipated start date for sales. This equaled 1,007.5 sq. ft. of sign area. A construction sign for a residential site is limited to sixty-four (64) sq. ft. Staff noted that the applicant is actually close to obtaining the required permits for the decorative wall which will replace the shade cloth. In addition, the applicant anticipates that the wall may be under construction within six (6) months. The code enforcement officer handling the case showed the BZA pictures of not only the shade cloth signage, but of other signs that were erected without permits. The officer asked that the variance not be granted due to the amount of deviation as they feared it would set a precedent. There was no one to speak for or against the application. The BZA noted that they realized the applicant's representative was not directly responsible for the placement of the sign, thus, it was likely the marketing division of the company. However, it was clearly done intentionally with full knowledge of the code, as the company does a large amount of work in the County.