Board of Zoning Appeals

CITY OF NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA NORTH MYRTLE BEACH CITY HALL BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS MEETING Thursday, April 13, 2023 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 Angelia Cox, Permit Clerk Roger Quinn Wyman Wise 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 March 9, 2023 meeting. The motion was made by Mr. Reaves and seconded by Mr. Bell. The motion passed 7-0. 3. COMMUNICATION: Mr. Caldwell stated he had attempted to contact applicant, Nancy Rector, concerning Variance #V12-23 and was unable to reach her on three separate occasions. Mr. Caldwell stated Mr. Farmer had seen the tree in question. Mr. Caldwell mentioned Ms. Rector was an elderly woman and asked the Board to consider making a motion in her absence. Mr. Noury confirmed the Board would proceed with Variance #V12-23. Mr. Caldwell stated Variance #V13-23 had been withdrawn by the applicant. Mr. Noury confirmed notifying the Board that Variance #V13-23 had been withdrawn by the applicant should suffice and no other action was necessary. 4. SWEAR IN THOSE PERSONS TO SPEAK: Mrs. Cox swore in persons to speak at the meeting. 5. OLD BUSINESS: None 6. NEW BUSINESS: A. VARIANCE #V12-23: Application by Nancy Rector to remove a tree in excess of 24” at 405 26th Avenue South. Mr. Caldwell stated the tree in question measured 42” in diameter. Mr. Caldwell stated removal of trees that exceed 24” in caliper required Board approval, the Board was charged with setting a similar tree replacement schedule, and the North Myrtle Beach City Council had established a Tree Bank in lieu of tree replacement. Chairman McGonigal asked for input from the Staff since the applicant, Nancy Rector, was not present and the application form lacked details. Mr. Farmer stated the tree was a healthy, 42” oak tree, and Ms. Rector had expressed a desire to remove the tree due to the abundance of falling leaves it produced. In response to Chairman McGonigal’s question, Mr. Farmer confirmed the tree in question was the large tree in the rear yard. Ms. Lover commented no information was listed on the application that would set forth an argument to constitute a hardship. Mr. Caldwell suggested the Board consider postponing the discussion of Variance #V12-23 to the next meeting. Mr. Noury stated the Board could act on the variance request, 1  but in situations like these in the past, the Board had continued the variance at least one meeting in order to allow the applicant an opportunity to present information on their behalf. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Ms. Lover motioned to continue Variance #V12-23 one (1) time to the next scheduled meeting. If the applicant failed to appear at that time, the Board shall motion in her absence. The motion was seconded by Mr. Reaves. The motion to postpone passed 7-0. B. VARIANCE #V13-23: Withdrawn by the applicant prior to the meeting. C. VARIANCE #V14-23: Application by Carl Hunsucker for a request to reduce the minimum front yard setback for an existing balcony from the minimum required 25’ to 17’ at 2105 Cecelia Street zoned Single Family, Low Density Residential, R-1 District. Mr. Hunsucker shared photographs of the balcony and stated this project began with raising the home. Mr. Hunsucker decided to enlarge the existing balcony, keeping it within the footprint of the existing front porch below it. Mr. Reaves asked if the front porch was grandfathered in, and Mr. Caldwell explained houses were permitted to be raised within the same footprint. Mr. Bell confirmed the existing lot size was smaller than current minimum requirements. Mr. Caldwell read the description of the request, and stated it was the practice of the to allow houses that did not conform to current required setbacks to be raised out of the flood zone in the existing footprint or by not enlarging the nonconforming footprint. Mr. Caldwell stated the existing nonconforming footprint of the balcony was increased from 4’x5’ to 8’x8’. Ms. Lover asked if Mr. Hunsucker had a permit to make repairs to the balcony. Mr. Caldwell confirmed the permit was only to raise the house and Mr. Hunsucker had decided to enlarge the balcony during construction. Mr. Quinn asked if the balcony was structurally sound and Mr. Caldwell responded it was his belief the structure met the building code requirements. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Mr. Bell motioned to approve Variance #V14-23. The applicant had demonstrated an unnecessary hardship. The extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to this particular piece of property was the unusually small lot size, being 50% less than required by current zoning. 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 motion was seconded by Mr. Quinn. The motion to approve passed 7-0. D. VARIANCE #V15-23: Application by Lanny Lewis to reduce side and rear yard setback requirements for existing encroachments at 4506 Osprey Street zoned Mobile/Manufactured Home Residential, R-3 District. Mr. Lewis stated he was asked at a previous Board meeting to contact Santee Cooper in regards to building on the utility encroachment. Mr. Lewis stated he received permission from Santee Cooper to continue with the build. Mr. Lewis expressed his intention to combine the two lots he owns. Ms. Lover asked for clarification as to the total number and the specifics of the variance request. Mr. Caldwell suggested the Board could consider two (2) setback variance requests in regards to this application. Mr. Caldwell read the description of the request, and stated the property was brought to the attention of the City by a complaint. It was determined a 397 sq. ft. garage with a 180 sq. ft. shed roof was placed on the property without the proper permits. At the time of the inspection, Mr. Lewis was constructing a raised wooden deck spanning the shared property line of the two lots. Mr. Caldwell explained garages were only permitted as accessory structures located on lots with homes as the primary structure. Mr. Caldwell stated Mr. Lewis 2  intended to have the lots consolidated to eliminate the accessory structure issues. Mr. Caldwell confirmed Santee Cooper verified no utility easement existed in the area. In response to Mr. Bell’s question, Mr. Caldwell stated he was unaware of any other easements on these lots. Chairman McGonigal asked if the two lots had been combined at this point. Mr. Caldwell stated it was his understanding the property had been surveyed for the purpose of combining the lots, but the survey had not been recorded with Horry County as required by the City. Mr. Reaves clarified a hardship must be identified for the Board to grant a variance and asked if lot size might be considered. Mr. Caldwell stated the lot sizes were the minimum required and would be a double lot size when combined. Mr. Reaves confirmed with Mr. Lewis that the structures were already built. Mr. Caldwell confirmed no building permits were issued for any of the structures. Mr. Thomas asked if moving the structure was possible. Mr. Lewis explained the metal structure was attached to a concrete pad. Ms. Lover questioned the viability of moving the structures as they appeared to be a garage with a deck and a treehouse on top. Mr. Lewis confirmed all three structures were connected. Mr. Caldwell projected pictures of the lots and the structures for the Board to review. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion. Ms. Lover motioned to approve Variance #V15-23 in part, to grant a side setback variance of 2.4’ and a rear setback variance of 2.1’ for the metal building, and to deny the variance request as it pertained to the deck and the structure on top. The deck and treehouse must be removed. Ms. Lover added a permit from the City must be issued prior to any structures being reinstalled and all future structures would conform to current setback requirements. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wise. The motion passed 7-0. 7. ELECTION OF OFFICER (VICE CHAIRPERSON): Chairman McGonigal called for a motion to nominate a Vice Chairperson. Mr. Bell motioned to nominate Mr. Quinn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wise. The motion passed 7-0. Chairman McGonigal called for a motion to adjourn. The motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Bell and was seconded by Mr. Reaves. The motion passed 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, Angelia Cox Permit 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. 3