Board of Zoning Appeals

CITY OF NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA NORTH MYRTLE BEACH CITY HALL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MEETING Thursday, November 10, 2022 5:00 PM MINUTES William McGonigal, Chairman City Staff: Mendel Bell Ben Caldwell, Zoning Administrator Cynthia Lover Elton Farmer, Zoning Technician Joe Reaves Chris Noury, City Attorney Andy Thomas Dawn Snider, Acting City Clerk Wyman Wise, Absent 1. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL: Chairman McGonigal called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. 2. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Chairman McGonigal called for a motion to approve the minutes of the October 13, 2022 meeting. The motion was made by Mr. Thomas and seconded by Mr. Reaves. The motion passed 5-0. 3. COMMUNICATION: None 4. SWEAR IN THOSE PERSONS TO SPEAK: Ms. Snider swore in persons to speak at the meeting. 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: A. VARIANCE #38-22: Application by Josh Rowell to reduce the rear yard setback from 20’ to 8’ at 2500 Highway 17 South zoned, Highway Commercial, HC District. Mr. Caldwell stated the applicant was out of town and asked to postpone to the December meeting. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Mr. Bell motioned to postpone Variance #38-22 until the next meeting and was seconded by Mr. Reaves. The motion to postpone passed 5-0. B. VARIANCE #39-22: Application by Brandon Kublanow to remove a tree in excess of 24 caliper inches at 1211 Highway 17 North zoned, Highway Commercial, HC District. Ty Bellamy represented the sellers of the property. The buyers had put in the application, but he was there to answer any questions. Mr. Caldwell read the description of the request, the ordinance, and recommended to hear the variance. The tree was 36 caliper inches. Ms. Lover stated the tree was not in the footprint of a building, but a parking lot. She asked if the tree were to stay, how many vacuum spots would they lose. Ms. Lover stated the property was very long and she thought they could keep the tree and put parking along other areas of the property. Mr. Bellamy stated they had looked at it and the architect couldn’t rearrange them. Ms. Lover stated she didn’t see the hardship and why they couldn’t keep the tree. She suggested they probably didn’t need 26 vacuum spaces. The Board, staff, and the applicant’s representative discussed the property and aspects of the proposed business that would be on-site. Chairman McGonigal stated he 1  didn’t know how the property could be developed without losing the tree. Ms. Lover stated she was concerned if the deal fell through, the tree would be gone. The Board discussed contingencies for the variance. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Mr. Bell motioned to approve Variance #39-22. The applicant had shown an unnecessary hardship. The extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to this particular piece of property was the odd shape of the lot and elevation issues in developing the property. These conditions did not generally apply to other properties in the vicinity. The application of the ordinance to the particular piece of property would effectively prohibit the utilization of the property. The authorization of the variance would not be of substantial detriment to adjacent properties or to the public good, and the character of the district would not be harmed by the granting of the variance. The tree cannot be removed until the city has approved final permitting for construction. All calipers (36”) that are removed must be replaced with a similar species on the property. Mr. Bell amended his motion to include the tree removal permit could be issued with the grading permit. The motion was seconded by Mr. Reaves. The motion to approve passed 4-1. Ms. Lover voted nay. C. VARIANCE #35-22: Application by Flagship Construction to remove three trees in excess of 24 caliper inches at lot 7 and 8 and to seek the Board’s determination for penalty of removing a 27” oak tree at Briarcliff Commons off of Commons Boulevard zoned Mid-Rise Multi-Family, R-2A District. A representative for Flagship was not in attendance. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Ms. Lover motioned to continue Variance #35-22 until the December scheduled meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bell. The motion to approve passed 5-0. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion to adjourn. The motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Bell and was seconded by Ms. Lover. The motion passed 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 5:28 PM. Respectfully submitted, Allison Galbreath City Clerk NOTE: BE ADVISED THAT THESE MINUTES REPRESENT A SUMMARY OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MEETING AND ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPRESENT A FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING. 2