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Meetings · Orlando

Orlando Board of Zoning Adjustment — March 24, 2026 minutes

City of Orlando Board of Zoning Adjustment — March 24, 2026

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (9 of 9 members present — full board) Duration: 2:00 PM – 2:09 PM (9 minutes) Location: Orlando City Hall, City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, One City Commons, 400 South Orange Avenue (hybrid — Zoom webinar 851 9808 8494)

Attendance

  • Present: Robert Slavens (Chairperson), Jill Roberts (Vice Chairperson), Keith Haugdahl, Carol Hendren, Hannah Hollinger, Marc Ispass, Chad Linn, Minesh Patel, Shawn Straight
  • Absent: None
  • Staff Present: Tim McClendon, Karl Wielecki, Raquel Lozano, Laura Eng, Jim Burnett, Sean Elordi, Michele Gibbs, Doug Metzger, Richard Forbes, Nicole Palacios (all City Planning); John Groenendaal and Keith Grayson (Permitting Services); Stacy Fallon (City Attorney's Office). Mark Cechman, Executive Secretary; Ed Petersen, Recording Secretary.

Prior minutes: February 24, 2026 minutes approved as written (moved Hollinger, seconded Hendren), unanimous voice vote 9-0.

No conflicts declared. No speakers appeared.

Agenda Items

All nine items were placed on the Consent Agenda and disposed of in a single motion. No item was pulled to the Regular Agenda.

Item 1: VAR2025-10053 — 1235 N. Orange Ave.

  • Type: Variance (returned from February deferral)
  • Case Number: VAR2025-10053
  • Location: 1235 N. Orange Ave. (± 0.3 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Max Furth, Hyperbolic Brewing Co., 2725 Walnut St., Orlando
  • Owner: Lake Ivanhoe Capital Group LLC, 103 Commerce St., Ste. 160, Lake Mary
  • Request: ±19 ft. variance to allow mechanical equipment ±1 ft. from the rear yard property line, where 20 ft. is required.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Two — consistency with the submitted plans, and the City's reservation of further comment at building permit.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. The request grew between hearings: the February version sought ±12 ft. of relief to place equipment ±8 ft. from the rear line; the approved March version sought ±19 ft. to place it ±1 ft. from the line. Project planner Sean Elordi.

Item 2: VAR2026-10005 — 1314 W. Smith St.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10005
  • Location: 1314 W. Smith St. (± 0.2 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Keith Cooper, Artesian Pools Inc.
  • Owner: Brian & Amy Ward
  • Request: ±4.5 ft. to allow a pool ±5.5 horizontal feet from an overhead power line, where 10 ft. is required.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Three, including that the horizontal setback from the overhead power line to the pool water's edge "must never be closer than ±5.5 ft."
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Sean Elordi.

Item 3: VAR2026-10006 — 1610 Curry Ford Rd.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10006
  • Location: 1610 Curry Ford Rd. (± 0.2 acres), District 4
  • Applicant: Daniel Sanders (applicant/owner)
  • Request: 30 ft. variance to allow a 70 ft. lot frontage for a semi-circular driveway with two curb cuts on a collector road, where a minimum 100 ft. frontage is required.
  • Current Zoning: R-1/T
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Fourteen, spanning Land Development, Development Review, Public Works and Transportation Permitting — western curb cut reduced to 9 ft. (combined curb-cut width 23 ft.); front-yard ISR capped at 40%; the curved driveway segment must leave 5 ft. between the inner driveway edge and the front property line, screened by shrubs or hedge; NAVD 88 topographic survey; Low Impact Development capturing 1.25 inches × impervious area; grading plan signed and sealed.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Raquel Lozano.

Item 4: VAR2026-10007 — 2912 Lake Shore Dr.

  • Type: Variance (deferred)
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10007
  • Location: 2912 Lake Shore Dr. (± 0.5 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Paul Straubinger, 2214 Lucerne Ter., Ste. 200, Orlando (applicant/owner)
  • Request: Five variances for a new lakefront house — (A) 49 ft. to allow a 67 ft. wide rear driveway where 18 ft. is the maximum; (B) allow two parallel parking spaces adjacent to the rear alley where perpendicular is required; (C) allow no buffer between the rear parking spaces and the adjacent alley; (D) allow two second-floor balconies to extend 5 ft. into the front setback; (E) 10.6 ft. to allow a front at-grade patio 19.4 ft. from the front lot line, where a 30 ft. front setback is required.
  • Staff Recommendation: Deferral to the April 28, 2026 BZA hearing, by request of the applicant
  • Action: Deferred (to April 28, 2026)
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: None
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Jim Burnett.

Item 5: VAR2026-10008 — 3409 Neptune Dr.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10008
  • Location: 3409 Neptune Dr. (± 0.2 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Zachary Richards (applicant/owner)
  • Request: Allow the one required parking space to encroach within the 30 ft. front yard setback, due to a carport enclosure.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Two parking spaces meeting 9 ft. × 18.5 ft. located in the existing driveway only; signed and sealed plans confirming the sketch dimensions at permitting.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Michele Gibbs.

Item 6: VAR2026-10010 — 879 Prim Dr.

  • Type: Variance (accessory dwelling unit)
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10010
  • Location: 879 Prim Dr. (± 1.2 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Maximus Seale (applicant/owner)
  • Request: (A) Allow an accessory dwelling unit on a 7,100 sq. ft. property, where a minimum 7,700 sq. ft. is required; (B) allow the one required parking space within the front yard setback.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Six — architectural consistency with the existing home; 55% ISR and 35 ft. maximum height; mechanical equipment not visible from the right-of-way per Sec. 58.984; three canopy trees on the subject property per LDC Sec. 60.233 if substantial improvement is triggered (the street tree does not count); apron reconstructed to 18 ft. to match the driveway.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Michele Gibbs.

Item 7: VAR2026-10011 — 13858 Tybee Beach Ln.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10011
  • Location: 13858 Tybee Beach Ln. (± 0.2 acres), District 1
  • Applicant: Ruben Puerta (applicant/owner)
  • Request: ±2 ft. to allow a ±3 ft. rear yard setback for a pool, where 5 ft. is required.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Two standard consistency/compliance conditions.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Laura Eng.

Item 8: VAR2026-10012 — 3414 Fairway Ln.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10012
  • Location: 3414 Fairway Ln. (± 0.4 acres), District 3
  • Applicant: Michael Stevens (applicant/owner)
  • Request: 20 ft. to allow a 2-story garage addition 5 ft. from the rear property line, where a 25 ft. rear setback is required.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Five, including front-yard impervious coverage capped at 40% across the fronts of both Lots 1 and 2 with overall ISR at 55% each, and an Urban Design condition that the garage elevation "be authentic to the style of architecture and materials of the existing principal structure."
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Jim Burnett.

Item 9: VAR2026-10013 — 712 Santa Fe Ln.

  • Type: Variance
  • Case Number: VAR2026-10013
  • Location: 712 Santa Fe Ln. (± 0.2 acres), District 2
  • Applicant: Michael Oropeza, Royal Palm Construction Group LLC, Merritt Island
  • Owner: Jennifer Kunsch
  • Request: ±4 ft. to allow the required off-street parking space to encroach into the front yard setback, due to a proposed garage enclosure.
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: Included in the 9-0 consent motion
  • Conditions: Six, including finished floor elevations 1 ft. above BFE/100-year 24-hour storm and/or 18 inches above the crown of the street, and 2 ft. between the driveway addition and the adjacent property line.
  • Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Laura Eng.

Consent motion: Board member Straight moved approval of the Consent Agenda; Board member Hendren seconded; passed by unanimous voice vote (9-0).

Regular Agenda: No items.

Old/New Business & Announcements: No items.

Public Hearings Summary

  • Number of speakers: 0 — "No speakers spoke at the meeting."
  • General sentiment: No public participation recorded.
  • Key concerns: None raised. Nine cases, including a garage-enclosure parking encroachment and an undersized-lot accessory dwelling unit, cleared with no member of the public appearing.

Key Signals

  • A deferral let an applicant come back asking for eight more feet — and get it. Hyperbolic Brewing's mechanical-equipment variance at 1235 N. Orange Ave. was deferred in February at staff's request while seeking ±12 ft. of relief (equipment 8 ft. from the rear line). It returned in March seeking ±19 ft. (equipment 1 ft. from the line) and was approved on consent with two boilerplate conditions. The month between hearings did not narrow the request; it enlarged it. In Orlando, a staff-initiated deferral is a technical-resolution window, and the resolution can move in the applicant's favor.

  • Orlando granted an ADU on a lot 8% too small — the density workaround is now retail, not wholesale. At 879 Prim Dr., the board waived the 7,700 sq. ft. minimum lot area for an accessory dwelling unit on a 7,100 sq. ft. property, with conditions requiring architectural match, a 55% ISR cap, and three canopy trees. Statewide accessory-dwelling policy is arriving through comprehensive-plan and Live Local channels in most Central Florida cities; Orlando is simultaneously adding units one variance at a time, below the threshold at which anyone notices.

  • The full board showed up and the meeting still ran nine minutes. March was the only meeting in the February–July window with all nine BZA members present. Nine cases were approved 9-0 in a single motion; adjournment came at 2:09 PM, the same minute as February's eight-member meeting. Attendance is not the variable that determines how much deliberation Orlando's variance cases receive. The consent structure is.

  • Curb cuts and front-yard pavement are the code Orlando actually enforces. Three of nine cases turned on driveway width, curb-cut count, or front-yard impervious surface, and the conditions are numerically specific: western curb cut reduced to 9 ft. for a combined 23 ft.; front-yard ISR capped at 40%; a 5 ft. planted strip inside a semi-circular drive, screened by hedge. Homeowners paving a second parking space in Orlando are entering the regulatory system at its most granular and most conditioned point.

  • The lakefront case that would eventually split the board was quietly pushed one month. VAR2026-10007 at 2912 Lake Shore Dr. — five variances for a new house on an undersized lot, including a 67 ft. rear driveway where 18 ft. is allowed — was deferred to April 28 at the applicant's request and moved on consent without comment. It returned in April as the first item in the window to draw organized neighborhood opposition and the first to produce a divided vote.

Raw Notes

  • Access provenance: Laserfiche Cloud public portal, City Clerk repository r-b158fc8c. Direct PDF: https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=1086872&repo=r-b158fc8c (9 pages, born-digital text layer, no OCR required).
  • Bracketed attendance counters incremented one meeting from February: Slavens [6/0], Linn [6/0], Patel [6/0]; Roberts, Haugdahl, Hendren, Hollinger, Ispass and Straight all [5/1].
  • The same five standing conditions apply to all approved cases (site-plan conformance with Zoning Official discretion over minor modifications; all permits before commencing; the Fla. Stat. § 166.033(6) state/federal permit disclaimer; one-year variance expiration absent a building permit; a discretionary six-month administrative extension).
  • Two members of staff appear in March who were not present in February — John Groenendaal (Permitting Services) and Nicole Palacios (City Planning); Jacob Ballard and Courtney Karins are not listed.
  • Adjournment 2:09 PM. Attested by Mark Cechman, Executive Secretary, and Ed Petersen, Recording Secretary.

Connected records

1 connected record

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