Subject:
Title
Waivers of Subdivision Requirements, Re: Clover Townhomes (24WV00002, 24WV00003, 24WV00004, 24WV00006, 24WV00007) (District 2)
Developer: Schwab Construction Group, Inc.
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Fiscal Impact:
None
Dept/Office:
Public Works / Planning and Development
Requested Action:
Recommendation
The applicant is seeking five (5) waivers to different sections of the Brevard County Land Development Code to allow the development of a 13-unit single-family attached subdivision. Should the Board grant approval of these waivers, staff recommends conditioning such approval on installation of automatic fire sprinklers for all residential buildings under the associated site plan.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
The County has received a site plan application for a 13-unit attached residential townhome building. The plans were submitted with a preliminary plat with the intention of subdividing each unit for separate ownership. The applicant states that the project tract is narrow, and the physical conditions of the property cause an undue hardship to the applicant if the strict letter of the code is carried out. The applicant states that without the relief from code requirements granted by the waivers included in this application, the project will not be feasible.
24WV00002:
Section 62-2887(c) states that “except for a minor subdivision, all lot access is to be internal within the final plat boundary.” The applicant requests to waive the requirement to access each lot from an internal roadway and instead use the existing adjacent county maintained Burnwood Drive for lot access. The subject property is 109 feet in depth, and the applicant states that those limitations imposed by Section 62-2887(c) would render the lots unbuildable and cause an undue hardship. Burnwood Drive is a dead-end street with no thru traffic to conflict with backing vehicles.
24WV00003:
Section 2883(d) requires that a “minimum 15-foot perimeter buffer shall be required, and that buffer shall remain undisturbed along all property boundaries and shall be platted as a common tract, separate from individual lots.” The applicant requests to waive the requirement to leave the buffer undisturbed and instead allow grading and drainage improvements on the rear and two sides of the project within the perimeter buffer. The applicant also requests that the buffer requirement along Burnwood Drive be waived entirely, stating that abiding by the strict letter of the code and maintaining an undisturbed 15-foot perimeter buffer places an undue hardship to the applicant due to the physical limitations of the property.
24WV00004:
Per Section 62-3206(b)(4), the parking for a project shall be designed so that the ingress/egress to and from the site provides for safe traffic flow on the site, and between the site and adjoining lands, including public rights-of-way. The parking for this project is designed so that vehicles will be backing into the Burnwoord Drive right-of-way. The applicant maintains that Burnwood Drive is a 680-foot dead-end local street with very low traffic, and driveway connections will not be a safety concern.
24WV00006
Exhibit 16 in Section 62-2802 requires that driveways shall be located no closer than 5 feet to the side property line. A waiver is requested by the applicant to allow these attached residential platted lots to allow the driveways to be located 4 inches from the side lot lines in lieu of the 5 feet shown on Exhibit 16.
24WV00007
Section 62-3751, Exhibit A of the Stormwater Management Criteria, Subsection 4.4(h) requires that dry ponds shall have side slopes no steeper than 3:1. The applicant is requesting a waiver of that section of the code, and to provide vertical concrete retaining walls on portions of the dry pond in lieu of the maximum allowable slopes of 3:1. The physical characteristics of the property place an undue hardship on the property owner if the project is made to comply with the strict letter of the code.
The waiver application submittal includes the comment response letter dated March 21, 2024, revised stormwater calculations, and revised drainage plans by Rick Kern, a Florida licensed professional engineer that were provided to support this waiver request. The comment response letter, stormwater calculations and associated plans were reviewed by Public Works - Engineering staff for the inclusion of the walls proposed along three (3) sides of the proposed rectangular dry retention stormwater pond at the rear of the property:
• Stormwater Quality (Pollution Removal): The stormwater calculations with the inclusion of the walls (impervious barriers) demonstrate recovery of the required stormwater treatment volume meeting stormwater quality requirements (pollution removal) per Brevard County Stormwater Criteria.
• Stormwater System Maintenance: The drainage plans provided with this waiver request include access to the stormwater pond through Tract LD-4.
• Access Pathway for Fire and Emergency Response to the Rear of the Buildings Outside of the Stormwater Pond: The applicant notes per the recommendation of Fire and Emergency Response they will provide automatic fire sprinklers for the residential units in lieu of a rear access pathway outside of the stormwater pond.
Staff has not granted approval of the waiver requests stated above, and pursuant to Section 62-2849 of the Brevard County Land Development Code, requests that the Board of County Commissioners evaluate the applicant’s request to waive the aforementioned code sections. The Board’s approval of this project does not relieve the developer from obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits, and staff recommends that any approval be conditioned upon developer providing automatic fire sprinklers for all residential buildings.
Clerk to the Board Instructions: