it's 3:00 is everybody ready to go uh before uh we call the meeting to order I need to read the guidelines by which this board operates this is a public hearing and we are the zoning board of adjustments for Putnham County Florida we operate under the
authority of articles 11 and 12 of the land development code as amended the primary responsibility of the board is to hear and decide appeals challenging final determinations made by the planning and development services department under the land development code and to hear and act upon request
for variances special use permits non-conu non-conforming use determinations and preliminary development plans under the land development code today we have a variance a variance is a relaxation of the requirements of the zoning code in a particular case where because of unusual
circumstances a little enforcement of our zoning code would result in undue or unnecessary hardship the zoning code permits us to authorize variances only for height size of structure size of yards and open spaces if we grant a variance we may impose reasonable conditions on the use of the property
which must be satisfied if the variance is to remain valid the standards we use in deciding whether or not to grant a variance are listed in section 45-833 of the land development code i'm skipping the special use permit
procedurally we will call each case by name and number a member of the staff will then briefly explain to us the nature of each request we will then take any comments from the applicant or their representative followed by any public comments concerning the request please direct all comments or statements to the
board and not to other people in the audience before speaking we will ask each person be recognized come forward to the lectern and identify his or herself by name and address all after all persons wishing to speak have been heard we will entertain a motion from
the board this motion will be voted on by board members and become our final order any decision made by this board can be appealed to the circuit court however any appeal must be filed within 30 days after the board of adjustments has rendered the final order which is being appealed are there any ca uh
questions the first case uh today all those wishing to be to speak will be need to be sworn in so will the sworn deputy clerk please administer the oath okay our first case is variance 25-0000004 but before we hear staff
report let's have a roll call of exparte communication andor conflict of interest no no no no no
woman yes i have a exparte with the applicant it will not affect my ability to vote today no okay mr perry since Mr linglman said this he wouldn't have any problems do you need to ask him a question
um U Hunter what was the nature of the exparte communication uh the nature of the communication was just to allow the applicant to know that I wanted to do a site visit of the property and I wanted to gain access to the property other than just looking at it from the road so I wanted to look at it from the backyard
you know before I entered private property wanted them to be aware of such um and that I would be there a few minutes and that was it so you didn't really speak about any of the subject matter or this hearing no the applicant did try to engage into it but I did not give any response to that at all
applicant um advised of certain circumstances of it but I didn't in any way get involved in any type of response or give my opinion on such so you think you can decide this matter in a fair and impartial manner absolutely
that'll be fine uh Madam Chair okay thank you staff thank you Madam Chair for the record Michael Graves Planning Development Services this is once again variance 25-0000004 uh the applicant are William and Terry Duke uh at the location of 108 Edgewater
Road in Satsuma Florida on a parcel that is 0.28 acres in size more or less as zoned residential 2 with the future land use of agriculture the variance is to allow for a reduction in the side setback from 10 feet to 2 feet a total of an 8ft side setback reduction and a
5-ft waterfront setback reduction from 25 ft to 20 ft on the 28 acres of residential twozone property to retain two existing sheds the applicants are requesting a setback reduction to retain sheds that were installed on the property before
they purchased it uh the applicants are in the process of moving off site due to issues with neighbors and wish to ensure that no code enforcement problems are placed on future owners an active code case is in effect for this property and had the development been a single foot
more inward and administrative deviation committee variance could have been granted instead of a zoning board of adjustment variance here you can see an aerial view of the property uh the zoning the future land
use the FEMA flood zones and the wetlands uh special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the land structure or building involved uh the property is only 65 ft wide as such there are special
circumstances that exist uh in that the land is too small by county regulation standards and the sheds cannot be moved and or removed without significant potential risk and or cost to the applicants or anyone they hire to work for them uh the special conditions and
circumstances described in paragraph A do not result from a failure on the applicant's part to follow applicable county state or federal regulations uh the special conditions of the circumstances are not the fault of the applicant uh the property is lot 75 of the St john's Riverside Estates River
Oaks recorded subdivision wherein most of the properties are uniformly 65 ft in width uh 10 ft less than the required 75 ft for the R2 zoning district it would appear in 2016 the former owners installed the sheds without permits as staff are unable to locate the permits
for their installation despite finding permits for earlier development on this property as such the current property owners are not responsible uh granting the variance requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is
denied by the code uh granting this variance would not be special privilege to the reduction of setbacks is one of if not the most common form of variance granted in Putnham County due to the large number of non-conforming lots throughout literal interpretation of the
provisions of this ordinance would deprive the applicant's rights commonly enjoyed by other uh properties in the same zoning district uh literal interpretation could place unnecessary and undue hardship on the applicant the return to the property could result in a hazardous environment or other such
unsafe conditions as their uh neighbors have according to the applicant made repeated threats of violence towards them uh it is potentially dangerous for the applicants to ever return to the property they would no longer wish to own uh granting of this variance will be
in harmony with the general intent and purpose of this ordinance and such variance will not be interest to the area involved the granting of this variance will mostly be in harmony with general intent and purpose of the LDC the general intent and purpose of the LDC is to provide land owners the right
to develop their land with a primary use and appropriate accessory structures that will not create a hazard to neighboring properties is not believed at this time that the location of the shed shall prove to be exceptionally hazardous or injurous to the area nor detrimental to public welfare
uh the variance granted is the minimum necessary that will make uh possible the reasonable use of land building or structure the requested variance is not the minimum possible to make reasonable use of the land the removal of the smallest shed as well as the uh shed with the porch on it as seen in the site
plan would remove the need for the reduction of the waterfront setback however this may be mostly unreasonable uh to keep the property in the same condition that it was when it was purchased and to prevent the applicants from having to return to the property where there is again potential danger
from uh as they said aggressive neighbors it is the minimum required to make reasonable use of the already existing structures uh staff finds that the requested variance meets the majority of the criteria uh for issuance of a variance in LDC section
45-833 uh and staff gives a recommendation of approval for the requested variance to allow for a reduction in side setbacks from 10 feet to 2 feet a total of 8 foot and a waterfront setback reduction from 25 feet to 20 feet a total of 5 foot uh
reduction on a 28 acre of residential twozone property uh staff would also like to take a moment to state that there is a uh objection letter that will need to be uh written uh spoken into the record at that time uh beyond that are
there any questions um question we did not get a copy of the objection letter it is in your packet it is the final sheet I believe okay sorry about that i guess I missed it my apologies my fault okay before we
continue any any other uh comments or questions for staff okay at this time let's do a site visit roll call yes yes yes
yes yes okay at this time would um William and Terry Duke like to address the board do you have anything that you would like to say other than what staff has said in their
report okay um the applicants are declining to come forward and address the board there is no one else in the audience but I will ask if there are anyone wishing to come forward and speak in favor of this application andor in opposition and
since there's no one in the audience the only two present are the applicants uh once again for the record Michael Graves Planning and Development Services this is a uh objection letter as written by David Williams at 112 Edgewater Road
in Satsuma Florida for case V25-0000004 petition to have this denied the west side of the property has a very large shed that is extremely close to the wood fence due to the rain runoff from the roof of the shed onto the fence
creating a heavy vegetation to grow that is unable to be maintained this is in turn attracting rats and other rodents to the surrounding area creating an environmental hazard bring with them possible diseases the rodents are attracting predators to the area such as
alligators and snakes hazards to people and pets uh the shed should be moved to the proper distance required by zoning or removed respectfully again David Williams thank you okay at this time uh we will close the
meeting to the public and open it up for board uh discussion and motion madam Chairman I move we approve variance 25004 as it meets the criteria for variance as required by section 45833 of the Pton County Land
Development Code and authorize the chair to sign the final order second we have a motion and second to approve variance 25-0000004 no further discussion all of those in favor please indicate by raising your right hand 1 2 3 4 5 67
motion carries 70 uh good luck and we're sorry you had such difficulty oh you have a 30-day appeal process though so you have there's a 30-day appeal process so if there's any issues
or problems please work with staff thank you okay continue the agenda um there any old business any new business yes madame chair if I may for new business that's me okay zach
um as many of you have been apprised uh Jenny Kidd has resigned effective April 7th uh we are expecting a replacement for Jenny on um April 21st which is this coming Monday her name will be Kristen Price um Kristen will work closely with
Nancy Brown and um the two Ashley's that have been taking minutes to make sure that we keep our our um motion going smoothly uh I also have another item of new business and that is that we also have a new planner uh with county staff
and his name is Ethan Thompson he's sitting to my right hi Ethan welcome aboard yes and Jenny will be missed but we enjoyed her time that she spent with us okay the next thing on the agenda is approval of the minutes but before we have a motion I there's one correction
and one suggestion the correction is the Putnham County Planning Staff President Brian Helms was not at that meeting in February and in March and the other suggestion or the suggestion I have is that at the approval of the minutes that
the date of the minutes should be on there as far because sometimes we don't meet every month and so it would been it would have the date should have been February 19th 2025 so that's it so how about a motion to approve the minutes everybody had a chance to read them
madame Chair just for me again uh just for correction was it March 19th i'm no March the minutes that we approved we're we're approving March minutes today we approved the February meetings in March right that's usually how we do it
yes ma'am but which the minutes that you're approving today march 19th no I'm sorry you're right my apologies it's okay i'm glad we're on the same page thank you thank you i was back a month okay it is March sorry
okay any other question any other corrections thank you Zach all right can we have a motion to approve motion to approve minutes as presented second all right we have a motion and a second to approve the minutes for March 19th
2025 i'm sorry today march April april April i'm all confused today april March 19th 2025 is approved today so I was right the minutes that we approved last month were for February that was in March so
today we're approving the March minutes right so when you're asking for the date of the minutes the date of the the minutes that came out in March the ones that you approved today the ones we're approving today were for
March 19th madam Chair this is totally confusing madam Chair the date and time are both listed within the minutes at the very top of the minutes we're approving today if that's your question in regards to uh your
recommendation the date and the time of the minutes we're approving today from last month are listed at the top of the page all right minutes for the Putinham County Board of Adjustment for March 19th
okay okay i was just All right i'm confused then all right so if we have any problems the minutes today for March 19th 2025 Madam Chair we have a motion on the floor still that has not been voted on
that motion has also been seconded to be clear we have a motion i have a second second oh I didn't hear you sorry about that all we have a motion and second to approve the March 19th 2025 minutes all in favor say I all opposed all right motion
carries okay mark confusion today and I apologize all right anything else madam chair motion to adjurnn thank you sir we stand a journ we said got a second