HomeMy Public PortalAboutJones Order Denying Variance Williams WayRe:
CITY OF CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
Lisa Jones
115 Williams Way
Crestview, FL 32536
Parcel ID: 26-3N-24-0970-0000-1220
Legal:
Lots 122 and 123, FOXWOOD ESTATES OF CRESTVIEW UNIT Il, according to
the plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 9, Pages 69 and 70, in the office of the
Clerk of Circuit Court, Okaloosa County, Florida
Date of Hearing: November 6, 2023
ORDER DENYING VARIANCE
The above referenced application for variance to allow a platted lot to be split came before
the City of Crestview Board of Adjustment (the "Board") for a public hearing on November 6,
2023, pursuant to Section 3.04.03 of the City of Crestview Land Development Code.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Having considered the application, along with supporting documents; the Staff report;
statements by the applicant; and all evidence presented during the public hearing, the Board finds
as follows:
1. The zoning designation of the property is Single -Family Low -Density Dwelling
District (R-1), and the Future Land Use designation is Residential (R).
2. The property is within the Foxwood Overlay District (FOD).
3. Due public notice of the hearing was given by publication in the Crestview News
Bulletin, a newspaper of general circulation, on October 26, 2023.
4. Competent substantial evidence has not been submitted to support all of the
approval criteria set forth in Section 3.05.02 of the Land Development Code.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
5. To approve a variance, all variance standards set forth in the City's Land
Development Code must be met by the applicant.
6. The burden to prove the existence of the required hardship and unique conditions
is always on the applicant. Gomez v. City of St. Petersburg, 550 So.2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989).
Therefore, if the owner presents no evidence that the property cannot be used without the variance,
the Board must deny the variance. Herrera v. Miami, 600 So.2d 561 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). It is
unquestionable that the property can be used without a variance.
7. Further, it is the land, and not the nature of the project, which must be unique and
create a hardship. Town of Indialantic v. Nance, 400 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). Common
difficulties shared by all other lot owners in the subdivision are not a unique hardship required to
support a variance. Id. And, economic disadvantage due to the owner's preference as to what he
would like to do with the property is not sufficient to constitute a hardship entitling the owner to a
variance. Burger King v. Metropolitan Dade County, 349 So.2d 210 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977).
8. "A variance should not be granted where the use to be authorized thereby will alter
the essential character of the locality, or interfere with the zoning plan for the area and with rights
of owners of other property." Elwyn v. City of Miami, 113 So.2d 849 (Fla 3rd DCA 1959). Here,
reasonable use can be made of the property without a variance, as the testimony established that a
single-family residence consistent with other lots in the platted subdivision could be built on the
property without a variance. Granting a variance here would also alter the essential characteristics
of the subdivision by making the subject lots far smaller than any other lots in the subdivision.
ORDER
NOW, THEREFORE, based on the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the
Board hereby denies the variance to permit a lot split under Section 3.04.03 of the City's Land
Development Code.
Any Appeal of this decision may be made by filing a petition for writ of certiorari with the
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Okaloosa County in accordance with the City of Crestview Land
Development Code and Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Date of Board Action: November 6, 2023
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FOR THE CITY OF CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA
chael Roy, Chairman
Date Filed with City Clerk: JVO{ v, .0?J
RECEIVED NOV 082023
ATTT:
Nat .. ha P . 'ck, Deputy City Clerk
CERTIFIED A TRUE
AND
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DATE: ' AVi›C f2 03