Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-04-04-120 — The Richman Group of Florida, Inc.

Request: Special Exception in R-3 (multifamily) zone to construct apartments in excess of one story in height within 100 ft. of single family zoning district to the east and Variance to construct apartment buildings 40 ft. in height in lieu of 35 ft. (NOTE: Applicant proposes 2 apartment buildings 88.7 ft. and 97.3 ft. from single family homes (Silver Star Manor Subdivision) to the east. All apartment buildings will be 40 ft. in height).

Decision: Approved

Hearing: The applicant withdrew his special exception request to construct apartments over 1-story in height within 100 feet of single family residential to the east. He agreed to meet the 100 foot building setback from the east property line. Therefore, this request is to construct the apartment buildings 40 ft. in height instead of 35 ft. In other words the applicant is requesting a 5 foot height variance. Staff advised the BZA this request was basically a building design issue. Specifically, the applicant wants to construct a roofline with a 12:5 pitch. To achieve this he needs a height variance. Five (5) area residents spoke in opposition. They were opposed to the apartment use of the property. They were unaware the subject site was already approved for apartment use. Staff advised the residents and the BZA the apartments were approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission on June 20, 1996 and all traffic issues would be subject to the County's Concurrency Management System. The issue in front of the BZA was simply a height variance not whether the apartments are permitted. The BZA felt an opaque barrier was necessary to buffer the single family homes to the east. Landscaping was not sufficient. Staff advised the BZA they would have to approve the variance in order to require a wall/fence along the east line. The BZA had no authority to impose conditions if they denied the request. The residents advised the BZA they wanted a wall. The applicant indicated this was an affordable housing project and requiring a 600 ft. long masonry wall would cause an economic burden. The BZA required a wooden fence and landscaping as a compromise.