Welcome to the August 6th, which I can't even believe, 2025 Pinellas County Board of Adjustment and Appeals hearing. We received your cases in advance. We studied them and in some cases visited the site. Members will announce the sites that were visited during discussion. And that's a new thing for all of us. Let you know that. Please understand we do not bring the cases. We are citizens tasked with weighing the evidence submitted in order to make the most informed decision possible. We have no personal interest or stake in these cases except for the overall good of the community. Staff has made a recommendation on each case, and that recommendation is input only and may not necessarily be the opinion of this board. If you are planning to speak for or against any application, you must be sworn in prior to testifying with these ladies. If you have not been sworn in, please do so now with the clerk at the front right table. This is how we're going to proceed. When your case is called by staff, the applicant should come to the podium and give us your name and address. The applicant will then present their case, including comments from any supporters in attendance. Comments by supporters should be new information, not just an expression of support. The applicant may display the volume of support by show of hands. Speakers will have three minutes. Opponents will then be given an opportunity to state their objection. If there are numerous opponents, it is preferable for them to select one or two spokespersons. Speakers will have three minutes. Any subsequent objectors should add new information, not just rehash prior stated objections. Opponents may also display the volume of objectors by show of hands. This will be the only opportunity for opponents to state their side. The applicant will then return to the podium solely to rebut the comments of any opponents and may not bring any new information or testimony at that time. Finally, we will close the public hearing and the board will discuss the case, make a motion, and vote. Now, our attorney will now provide additional information on our procedures. Thank you, Madam Chair. You're welcome. The matters heard by the Board of Adjustment and Appeals are quasi-judicial in nature. Please note that only competent, substantial, fact-based testimony or evidence may be considered by the board in deciding the matters before it. Pure speculation or opinion, not based on competent facts, cannot be legally considered by the board. Lay testimony with fact-based support, including but not limited to meeting minutes, surveys, engineering reports, et cetera, may be considered competent and substantial evidence. And one additional note, because I know we have one member that's not here yet that might show up. Once a case is opened, a member who's not yet arrived can't participate in that matter, but they can participate in the subsequent matters, of course. It's just, if something's gaveled open, for lack of a better term, they have to kind of sit that one out. Okay. Okay. With that, I'll have Michael call the first case, please. Good morning. Our first case is TY2-25-06. This is a type 2 use request to allow for the construction of a new fire station in an R2 zone for the property located at 13501, 94th Avenue North, and unincorporated Seminole. Staff recommends conditional approval. The subject site has historically been utilized as a fire station for the Pinellas Suncoast Fire Station No. 28. The fire department would like to demolish the existing building because it's dated, it's functionally obsolete. It was constructed in the early 70s and construct a brand-new 9,874-square-foot, two-story fire station that has three equipment bays and an associated parking lot. So type 2 use is required for government use on a residentially zoned property. Based on the proposed construction plan, it appears the fire station will meet the required setbacks, address stormwater retention and parking requirements to serve its intended use. And this will further accommodate the currently outdated fire station's need for modernization and functionality in their existing facility. And staff recommends conditional approval with the requirement of site plans and any applicable fees. Good morning. Your name and address? Good morning. My name is Ben Buencamino. I work for CPH Engineers. We're the civil site consultants. And with me is... My name is Ken Grimes. I'm the fire chief of Pinellas-Suncoast Fire Rescue Department. Do you need their addresses? I do. Could you give me your address? I'm sure. My address is 3620 36th Street North, St. Petersburg, Florida. Okay. And yours, sir? And our office is in Orlando, 1117 East Robinson Street. Okay. Thank you. Are there any opponents in the audience? Seeing no opposition, I'm going to move for the staff's recommendation of a type 2 use to approve the fire station application in accordance with the findings of fact that are outlined in the staff's presentation. Second. So we have a motion for conditional approval made by Mr. Baumstein, seconded by Mr. Bellow. Is there any discussion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? We'll pass a 6 to 0. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our next case is VAR-25-03. This is a variance request to allow for a garage addition having a 9-foot, 4-inch front setback from the eastern property line where 20 feet is required in an R3 zone for the property located at 1484 Hunter Lane in unincorporated Clearwater. Staff recommends conditional approval. Subject property is approximately .18 acres. It's developed with a single-family home. The applicant previously received variance approval in 2005 to allow for a garage expansion with an 11.6-foot front setback. The work was never completed and the variance expired. The applicant is now seeking approval for garage expansion to this 9-foot, 4-inch from the eastern property line, which is the front, where 20 feet is required. This garage will consist of a side-loaded garage. The current driveway will also be removed and a new driveway will be built designed to fit this side-loaded garage to avoid any possible queuing in the public right-of-way. No other setback reductions are being requested by the applicant. It is anticipated there will be minimal impacts on adjacent residential properties. Staff recommends conditional approval, permits, and fees. All other setbacks shall be met, and the applicant also needs to obtain right-of-way utilization permits for removal of existing driveway and construction of the new driveway. Good morning. Your name and address, please. Good morning. Ryan Buecher, 1484 Hunter Lane in Clearwater. You can actually stand in the middle because the things will pick you up, believe it or not. Are there any opponents to this case? I have a question of staff. This is a rather ambitious setback adjustment. Are we setting a precedent in this neighborhood? Are there other homes that have this kind of setback modification? The house directly next door has a side-loaded garage, very similar to this, and it looked like it was probably constructed as the original part of the house. This would almost be a mirror image of that same one. So that's one I know that's nearby. I didn't look to see if there's any further ones in there. But based on the fact that it's side-loaded, the driveway would be enough. The garage would accommodate two vehicles, which is the minimum parking requirement, and then additional parking space on this new driveway, staff felt it was supportable. I had a question. There was a letter in here about the tree, and will the tree be taken down? I'm still going to make an effort to keep the tree. Keep the tree, okay. Based on the outcome of this, I won't be before I took the arborist any further. I'll have him now come out and make some real recommendations. His thought was that based on the plan, the tree would probably need to be removed. But then you know you have to replace and do other things, right, because there's a bunch of other things you have to do that. Correct, yeah. Yeah, okay. I was just wondering about that. Any other questions? A big adjustment. That right-of-way, that's 17 feet from the road, correct? And then it would be back another 9 feet from there? Yes. Yes. Yeah, so there's a pretty good size right-of-way. It's a 50-foot overall right-of-way, but the actual pavement, 50 feet wide. So, yeah, there is a big yard right-of-way. I have that scale drawing if it would help. Yeah, yeah. If I just see that. Put it on the seal. If you hand anything to the... On the seal. Face up. Oh. The camera's in the ceiling above you. Yeah, it's... I'll leave it. There we go. There we go. Everybody see what that is? Yeah. Yeah. So you can see where the road is and then where the property line starts. That shows, so the 50-foot right-of-way, you see the driveway's edge at the pavement and then up into that solid black line, that first one, that curved line, that's where the property line starts. That's where the setback comes from. So the request is that 9.6 from the property line, but there is a further distance to the edge of pavement as well. And there's no public sidewalk there? There's no sidewalks out there, no. That's okay. Hearing no other objections, I'm going to move for the staff's recommendation of conditional approval in accordance with the findings of fact as outlined in the staff report. Second. All right. We have a motion by Mr. Baumstein for conditional approval and a second by Mr. Bellow. Is there any more discussion from anybody? Yolanda, you can't vote. Yolanda, you can't vote. Just this one. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The House is 6-0. Thank you. Our next case is VAR-25-06, a variance request to construct a 991-square-foot detached accessory dwelling unit where 750 square feet is the maximum size allowed if the property is within the coastal storm area or a flood hazard area for the property located at 520 Indiana Avenue in Crystal Beach. Staff recommends conditional approval. This subject property was developed with a detached single-family home constructed in 1925. The property is within our coastal storm area, which consists of our coastal high-hazard area. It's evacuation zones A and then other, you know, flood hazard zones. The home was significantly damaged by the hurricanes in 2024, and the applicant intends to demolish part of the structure, keeping just the original house that was from 1925, and then also construct a 991-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, which is an elevated unit. There will be 808 square feet of conditioned space covered lanai, adding 183 square feet for that total of 991. There will be an unfinished, unenclosed ground floor area that will provide space for storage or parking. So, we recognize that accessory dwelling units are used to mitigate storage of a shortage of affordable housing by providing small dwelling units that are ancillary to principal residents. This request exceeds the standard site limit by 241 square feet. The applicant is looking to keep the historical character of the home fully intact. The approval should be subject to the following conditions, which are permits and fees. The 183-square-foot covered lanai shall remain unenclosed, so not enclosed anymore. And then the ground floor area is to remain unenclosed and only used for the storage purposes. I'll answer any questions you have. Your name and address, please. Morning. Amanda Nowles, 520 Indiana Avenue in Crystal Beach, Florida. Thank you. And I did go to that site, so I didn't look at it, because I love Crystal Beach. I always like to know what's going on there. So, I did go there. Thank you. Anybody else visit the site? Yeah, I did. All right. Is there anybody in opposition here? I don't think there's anybody here, actually. Except our team. One question. The use of the upper structure that you're proposing to build will be as a residence or? Yeah, a part of the residence. So, the part of the home that I'm demolishing is going to be a bedroom, a bathroom, and a family room area. So, it's kind of replacing that. But also, the original bungalow had about a three-step elevation, as I'm sure you could see from the front. So, we kind of flooded underneath. And so, we are going to redo the floors in the bungalow. But it's livable. We had everything mitigated and treated. So, the addition that was built on a slab is what I intend to demolish and then rebuild on that slab and actually move in nine feet, according to the new, you know. Is it attached to the main residence? Currently, the addition is. Yes, but then we'll be demolishing that and then building a two-story accessory dwelling unit. Pre-standing? Yes. Okay. That's why it's an accessory building? Yes. We're standing, yeah. So, the fact that the bottom floor is not developed in the lanai, does that make a difference? So, in our accessory dwelling units code, you have to have the same height as the principal structure, with the exception when you're in a flood hazard area. You have to raise it up to the base flood elevation. So, there's an exemption from that. And then you also are required your maximum square footage, that 750 square feet, includes any areas used exclusively for that accessory dwelling unit, which is the porch up front. We don't count the underneath because it's not going to be enclosed. It's not a garage. It's going to be on piers, and it's going to be open. So, that's not considered as countable space. So, just the upper portion. Are you okay with the condition that is being recommended that you cannot enclose the lower level of lanai? I don't know what else is recommended. Anything good? Let me pull this out. Are you asking the applicant or staff? I'm asking myself, actually. That's okay, too. I got it. Here it is. The lanai remain unclosed. Does ground floor remain unenclosed and only use for storage purposes? Yes. Okay. All right. So, in that case, I will move for the staff's recommendation of conditional approval in accordance with the findings of fact as outlined in the staff report. Second. Okay. We have a motion for conditional approval by Mr. Baumstein, a second by Mr. Bellow. Is there any other questions or anything? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Passes 7-0. Thank you so much. Thank you. And have your variance. The approval of the minutes for July 2nd, that were in your packet. Move to approve the minutes of the July 2nd meeting. Second. Keep it going. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Passes 7-0. I think we're done. Adjournment. We'll see you next month. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no. We're not. We're not. A guest appearance. Something like that. I didn't get the memo on the summer schedule. Yeah. I missed it. I missed it. I missed it. We'll see you next week. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.