City of Orlando Board of Zoning Adjustment — July 28, 2026

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (7 of 9 members present) Duration: 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM (45 minutes) Location: Orlando City Hall, Council Chambers, 400 S. Orange Ave.

Attendance

• Present: Jill Roberts (Vice Chairperson, presiding) [9/1], Carol Hendren [9/1], Hannah Hollinger [9/1], Marc Ispass [9/1], Chad Linn [10/0], Minesh Patel [9/1], Shawn Straight [9/1]
• Absent: Robert Slavens (Chairperson) [9/1], Keith Haugdahl [8/2]
• Staff Present: Tim McClendon (Executive Secretary), Doug Metzger, Ed Petersen, Jim Burnett, Laura Eng, Mark Cechman, Nicole Palacios, Raquel Lozano, Sean Elordi, Shannan Stegman (City Planning); John Groenendaal (Permitting Services); Stacy Fallon (City Attorney's Office); Kim King-Maysonet, Kory Keith, Manuel Ospina, Michael Whiteman, Yesenia Martinez (Economic Development). Ed Petersen, Recording Secretary.

Prior minutes: June 23, 2026 minutes approved as written (moved Ispass, seconded Hollinger), unanimous voice vote 7-0.

Conflict declarations: No Board members declared any conflicts.

Public comments: A speaker request was received for Item 6 (2916 Westchester Ave.), which was heard on the Regular Agenda.

Agenda Items

Item 1: VAR2026-10020 — 626 Strathmore Dr., Rear Addition

• Type: Variance
• Case Number: VAR2026-10020
• Location: 626 Strathmore Dr., west of Strathmore Dr., south of Palmer St., north of Clemwood Dr. (± 0.22 acres), District 4
• Applicant: Daniel Smith, Distinctive Builders
• Owner: Spenser Strode
• Request: ±6.7 ft. to allow a rear addition with an ±18.3 ft. rear yard setback, where 25 ft. is required.
• Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
• Action: Approved (consent)
• Vote: Included in the 7-0 consent motion
• Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Michael Whiteman, Economic Development Coordinator — the only case in this window whose assigned planner is not from City Planning.

Item 2: VAR2026-10028 — 9921 Wheatberry Ct., Front Yard ISR & Driveway

• Type: Variance (two requests, split disposition)
• Case Number: VAR2026-10028
• Location: 9921 Wheatberry Ct., south of Wheatberry Ct. and Hollyhill Dr., west of Boggy Creek Rd. (± 0.15 acres), District 1
• Applicant: Edward Landron
• Owner: Yovanni Abreu
• Request: (A) ±25% to allow a front yard impervious surface ratio of ±65%, where up to 40% is allowed; (B) ±12 ft. to allow up to a ±30 ft. wide driveway, where 18 ft. is the maximum.
• Staff Recommendation: (A) Approve with conditions; (B) Withdrawal by staff request
• Action: Split — (A) approved, (B) withdrawn, as recommended
• Vote: Included in the 7-0 consent motion
• Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Laura Eng.

Item 3: VAR2026-10032 — 1045 W. Gore St., Driveway & Parking Space

• Type: Variance
• Case Number: VAR2026-10032
• Location: 1045 W. Gore St., north of W. Gore St., east of Woods Ave., south of Iberia St., west of S. Westmoreland Dr. (± 0.15 acres), District 5
• Applicant/Owner: Joshua Padron, J. Padron Properties LLC
• Request: (A) Allow a second curb cut on a corner lot, where only one is allowed; (B) allow a parking space to be perpendicular to the driveway.
• Staff Recommendation: Approve with conditions
• Action: Approved (consent)
• Vote: Included in the 7-0 consent motion
• Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Laura Eng.

Item 4: VAR2026-10034 — 4 S. Ivey Ln., Mid-Rise Signs

• Type: Design Variance (deferred)
• Case Number: VAR2026-10034
• Location: 4 S. Ivey Ln., west of S. Ivey Ln., south of Edgemoor St., east of S. Fanfair Ave., north of Barley St. (± 4.63 acres), District 5
• Applicant: Addie Mentry, AMLU Consulting
• Owner: ECG South Ivey LP
• Request: Design Variance to allow four mid-rise signs in the O-1 zoning district, where mid-rise signs are not allowed for residential uses in O-1.
• Current Zoning: O-1
• Staff Recommendation: Deferral to the August 25, 2026 BZA hearing, by request of the applicant
• Action: Deferred (to August 25, 2026)
• Vote: Included in the 7-0 consent motion
• Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Jim Burnett.

Item 5: VAR2026-10029 — 9436 Candice Ct., Front Yard ISR & Driveway

• Type: Variance (two requests, split disposition)
• Case Number: VAR2026-10029
• Location: 9436 Candice Ct., west of Candice Ct., south of Dowden Rd., west of the East Park neighborhood (± 0.13 acres), District 1
• Applicant/Owner: Jesca Rodriguez & Reynaldo Aviles
• Request: (A) 8 ft. to allow a 26 ft. wide driveway, where 18 ft. is the maximum; (B) 7.2% to allow a 47.2% front yard impervious surface ratio, where 40% is the maximum.
• Staff Recommendation: (A) Withdrawal, by request of the applicant; (B) Approval of a modified request — 5% to allow a 45% front yard ISR rather than the 47.2% sought
• Action: Split — (A) withdrawn, (B) approved as modified downward
• Vote: Included in the 7-0 consent motion
• Notable Discussion: None recorded. Project planner Raquel Lozano.

Consent motion: Board member Ispass moved approval of the Consent Agenda subject to the conditions in the staff reports; Board member Hollinger seconded; passed by unanimous voice vote (7-0).

Item 6 (Regular Agenda): VAR2026-10033 — 2916 Westchester Ave., Front-Loaded Projecting Garage

• Type: Design Variance
• Case Number: VAR2026-10033
• Location: 2916 Westchester Ave., west of Westchester Ave., northeast of Florida Hospital, south of Wilkinson St., east of Lake Winyah (± 0.41 acres), District 3
• Applicant/Owner: Andy Katzman, Rare Builders, Inc.
• Request: Design Variance to allow a front-loaded projecting garage in the Traditional City (T) overlay, where garages must be flush with or recessed behind the façade of the home.
• Current Zoning: Traditional City (T) overlay
• Staff Recommendation: Deny
• Action: DENIED
• Vote: 6-1 voice vote (moved Straight, seconded Ispass; Vice Chairperson Roberts opposed) — the only denial by either Orlando land-use board in the February–July 2026 window
• Notable Discussion:
  • Jim Burnett presented research showing that projecting garages are not the predominant façade in the area, noted the applicant did not want to redesign with a side-loaded projecting garage, and stated staff recommended denial because the request did not meet at least 51% of the Design Variance criteria.
  • Andy Katzman pointed to the particular restrictions of the lot, said he had designed the project to balance the garage's appearance against other elements, and compared his project to VAR2025-10041 and VAR2009-00072, asking the BZA for similar approval on that basis.
  • Board members asked whether he would redesign to meet code, since he was starting from a blank slate; he said the proposed design was the best fit for the lot. He questioned why past cases were granted approval by staff but not his; board members responded that those cases had slightly different circumstances. The board established that he currently held only a concept plan and could redesign a code-compliant one.

Old/New Business & Announcements:

• Recording Secretary Petersen reminded the Board that elections for Chair and Vice Chair will take place at the end of the August 2026 hearing.
• Petersen announced the end of BZA service for members Hendren (7 years) and Ispass (6.5 years), and thanked them for their lengthy service.

Public Hearings Summary

• Number of speakers: 1 — Andy Katzman, the applicant on Item 6, appearing on his own behalf.
• General sentiment: No neighborhood opposition recorded on any item. The only speaker was an applicant arguing against a staff recommendation of denial.
• Key concerns: Whether prior staff-approved cases (VAR2025-10041, VAR2009-00072) establish a basis for consistent treatment of a front-loaded projecting garage in the Traditional City overlay. The board answered that the cited cases had different circumstances.

Key Signals

• This is the first case in the window the board denied on its own motion, and it is a design case, not a dimensional one. February through June the BZA never took a separate denial motion; the only refusals were staff-recommended denials and withdrawals folded into consent (the 24-foot driveway width at 9917 Red Clover Ave. in June, the driveway components at 9921 Wheatberry Ct. and 9436 Candice Ct. in July). Meanwhile the board granted a 67-foot rear driveway where 18 feet is allowed, an 87% front-yard impervious ratio where 40% is the maximum, and a hardship it recorded as self-created. The one request pulled out for a standalone vote and refused was a garage projecting in front of the house in the Traditional City overlay. Orlando's variance system is negotiable on measurements and firm on street-facing form.

• The denial standard was arithmetic: "at least 51% of the Design Variance criteria." Staff told the board the request failed a majority-of-criteria test, and produced research showing projecting garages are not the predominant façade in the surrounding area. That converts a design judgment into a countable finding an applicant can pre-test. Anyone taking a Design Variance to the Orlando BZA should expect the case to turn on a criteria tally and a survey of the block, not on hardship.

• "You approved one like mine before" got a hearing and lost. Katzman cited VAR2025-10041 and VAR2009-00072 and asked for equal treatment; board members answered that those cases had slightly different circumstances. Precedent arguments are audible at this board but not binding, and the answer is always distinguishable facts. The operative detail is that both cited cases were granted by staff, not by the board — an administrative approval track exists alongside the hearing track, and the board does not consider itself bound by it.

• Six consecutive meetings, zero departures from the staff recommended outcome. February through July, on roughly thirty cases including split recommendations, partial withdrawals and staff-modified requests, the BZA's disposition matched the staff report every time. In July alone staff recommended an approval, a partial withdrawal, a downward modification of a requested ISR from 47.2% to 45%, a deferral, and a denial — and the board adopted all five verbatim. On this board the staff report is the decision; the vote is its ratification.

• Two members with 13.5 combined years left, a new Executive Secretary ran his first meeting, and the chair was absent. Tim McClendon presided as Executive Secretary for the first time following Mark Cechman's June 23 handoff; Vice Chairperson Roberts chaired in Slavens's absence; and Hendren (7 years) and Ispass (6.5 years) were thanked for service ending. Roberts, the presiding officer, cast the sole dissent on the only denial. Chair elections follow on August 25. The institutional memory that produced six months of perfect staff alignment is being replaced inside a single quarter.

• Front-yard pavement is the highest-volume dispute in Orlando, and staff now negotiates it down mid-case. Three of six July items involve driveway width or front-yard impervious surface. At 9436 Candice Ct. staff withdrew the driveway-width request at the applicant's ask and recommended approval of a reduced ISR — 45% rather than the 47.2% requested. At 9921 Wheatberry Ct. staff withdrew the driveway component and approved a 65% front-yard ISR. The pattern across June and July: staff will trade the driveway width to preserve some ISR relief, and the board will ratify whatever number staff lands on.

Raw Notes

• Access provenance: Laserfiche Cloud public portal, City Clerk repository r-b158fc8c. Direct PDF: https://portal.laserfiche.com/Portal/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=1109159&repo=r-b158fc8c (8 pages). Pages 1–7 carry born-digital text; page 8 is a scanned image and was not transcribed.
• Item 5 is numbered out of sequence in the source: the consent agenda runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with Item 6 on the Regular Agenda, but Item 5 (9436 Candice Ct.) appears after Item 4 (4 S. Ivey Ln.) with case numbers running VAR2026-10020, -10028, -10032, -10034, -10029. Case numbers are not in agenda order.
• The Executive Secretary line changed between meetings: Mark Cechman signed the June 23 minutes and is listed among staff present here; Tim McClendon reviewed the Consent Agenda and signed as Executive Secretary.
• Five Economic Development staff attended — Kim King-Maysonet, Kory Keith, Manuel Ospina, Michael Whiteman and Yesenia Martinez — the largest Economic Development presence at any BZA meeting in the window, and one of them (Whiteman) carried a case as project planner.
• The full-board streak ended: after two consecutive 9-of-9 meetings in March and June, two members were absent in July, including the Chairperson.
• These minutes were not yet approved as of the harvest date; BZA approval would occur at the August 25, 2026 hearing. Status recorded as pending-approval.
• Adjournment 2:45 PM. Attested by Tim McClendon, Executive Secretary, and Ed Petersen, Recording Secretary.