Subject:
Title
Waivers of Subdivision Requirements, Re: Banyan Cove (24SP00039, 25WV00008, 25WV00011, 25WV00012, 25WV00013)
DR Horton, Inc. (District 2)
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Fiscal Impact:
None
Dept/Office:
Planning and Development
Requested Action:
Recommendation
In accordance with Section 62-2849(a), the applicant is requesting that the Board of County Commissioners grant four (4) waivers (24SP00039, 25WV00008, 25WV00011, 25WV00012, and 25WV00013) to different sections of the Brevard County Land Development Code to allow the development of a 22-unit single-family attached subdivision. Should the Board approve these waivers, it is requested that it do so contingent on them being implemented consistent with the attached Plans. Any deviation from these plans shall render the waivers voidable.
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Summary Explanation and Background:
Planning and Development has received a site plan application for a 22-unit attached residential townhome development consisting of three buildings with six units each, and one building with four units. 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.
Staff previously approved site plan 19SP00027 for a 14-unit residential multifamily development consisting of two buildings within the same project area that did not require any waivers because the project was a multi-family apartment development and provided off-street parking lots to meet the parking requirements. This project proposes individually owned, platted simple fee lots with driveways and garages for each unit. The applicant has provided supporting information with the attached Traffic Statement to justify the waivers that are proposed under the current Site Plan 24SP00039.
25WV00008
The applicants request relief from the standards stipulated in Section 89-69(c) requiring a minimum of five feet between any driveway and any side property line. The applicant states that each residential unit is only 20 feet wide, and that designing and placing the driveway and garage in the center of the lot in order to meet the driveway separation required by the code would leave a five-foot strip of unusable space on either side of the garage on the ground floor of the residence. The applicant states that the driveways must be placed on the east or west side of the townhome, which encroaches on the required driveway separation.
25WV00011
The applicants request a waiver to Section 62-2883(d) which states, “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 buffer requirement and instead allow landscaping, grading and drainage improvements on the rear and two sides of the project. The applicant also requests that the buffer requirement along Houston Lane be waived, stating that the design of the townhomes and driveways for each unit will make it impossible to maintain an undisturbed 15-foot perimeter buffer, and the requirement places an undue hardship to the applicant due to the physical limitations of the property.
25WV00012
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 Houston Lane for lot access. The subject property is 101 feet in depth, and the applicant states that creating an internal roadway to county standards within the plat boundary as imposed by Section 62-2887(c) would render the lots unbuildable and cause an undue hardship.
25WV00013
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 Houston Lane right-of-way. The applicant maintains that Houston Lane is a 1,300-foot local street with very low traffic, there are no other driveways that connect to Houston Lane, and driveway connections for the 22-unit development will not be a safety concern.
The waiver application submittal includes the responses to initial staff comments dated June 10, 2025 with a Traffic Statement by Daniela S. Jurado, a Florida licensed professional engineer from Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. that addresses the safety implications of the reduction of the separation of driveways, and of vehicles backing into the public roadway. The traffic statement included a review of the surrounding area, and of multifamily residential units with similar characteristics on neighboring streets and found that there were two crashes within a 5-year period. The review showed the crashes were low severity, with only property damage. Additionally, none of the crashes were related to vehicles entering or exiting driveways. Staff from Public Works - Traffic Engineering reviewed the Traffic Statement and confirmed the information in the statement is correct.
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. Board approval of these waivers does not relieve the developer from obtaining all other necessary jurisdictional permits. The Board may consider that approval be conditioned upon the developer entering into an agreement with the county to maintain Houston Lane from Hill Avenue on the west and Schoolhouse Street to the east.
Contact: Tim Craven, ext. 58266
Clerk to the Board Instructions: