Sumter City-County Board of Zoning Appeals
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Sumter City-County
Board of Zoning Appeals
May 11, 2022
BOA-22-05, 1126 Shoreland Dr. (County)
The applicant is requesting variance approval from
the requirements outlined in Article 4, Section 4.f.8:
Height, Fencing Materials, and Proximity Regulations
for Fences Allowed in Required Yards of the Sumter
County Zoning & Development Standards Ordinance
in order to permit the finished side of a wooden
privacy fence to face inward in the front yard setback
area. The property is located at 1126 Shoreland Dr.,
is zoned Residential-15 (R-15) and is represented by
TMS# 207-09-02-025.
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Sumter City-County Zoning Board
of Appeals
May 11, 2022
BOA-22-05, 1126 Shoreland Dr. (County)
I. THE REQUEST
Applicant: Jerme and Caroline Brown
Status of the Applicant: Property Owners
Request: Variance from the requirements outlined in Article 4, Section
4.f.8: Height, Fencing Materials, and Proximity Regulations for
Fences Allowed in Required Yards of the Sumter County Zoning
& Development Standards Ordinance in order to permit the
finished side of a wooden privacy fence to face inward in the front
yard setback area.
County Council District: District 3
Location: 1126 Shoreland Dr.
Present Use/Zoning: Residential/ Residential-15 (R-15)
Tax Map Reference: 207-09-02-025
II. BACKGROUND
The applicant is requesting a
variance to the Ordinance
requirement outlined in Article 4.f.8
regarding fences allowed in yards to
permit the finished side of a wooden
privacy fence to face inward in the
front yard setback area. The
property, located at 1126 Shoreland
Dr. and is shown in red on the map
to the right. The property currently
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contains a single-family residential dwelling.
Sometime between February 2020 and the present (timeline established from available
aerial photography), a solid opaque wood privacy fence was installed on or near the
property line separating the Property from adjacent land located at 1116 Shoreland Dr.,
further identified as TMS# 207-09-02-026. The fence currently exists with the finished
side facing the Property along the entirety of the northern property boundary.
Pictures of the installed fence are shown below:
Above: View of fence facing south toward 1126 Shoreland Dr.
Above: View of fence facing north toward 1116 Shoreland Dr
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The Ordinance provides the following definitions and graphic for the term “Front Yard”
as commonly referenced in Article 4, Section 4.f.8, as well as throughout all other
sections of the Ordinance.
Yard, Front: A yard extending the full width of the front of a lot between the front
(street right-of-way line or property line or property line and the front building
line.
Ordinance Requirements
4.f.8. Height, Fencing Materials, and Proximity Regulations for Fences
Allowed in Required Yards: A solid fence or wall not over five (5) feet in height is
permitted outright in any side or rear yard provided; that said fence is no closer
than twelve (12’) inches from a street right-of-way line. Where a fence is in fact
over five feet in height, said fence may not be permitted within six feet of a
structure on an adjacent property. In addition, a solid fence which is over six (6)
feet in height must be an additional one (1) foot from the adjacent structure for
every foot in height. No fence may exceed eight (8) feet in height. Hurricane,
cyclone and wire fences are permitted along any side or rear property line. All
solid fences in the front yard setback area will have an exterior finish facing
outward.
The Request:
The applicant is requesting a variance from the Sumter County Zoning and Development
Standards Ordinance, Article 4, Section 4.f.8. to allow a wood privacy fence installed in
the front yard to remain with the unfinished side facing the neighboring lot.
III. FOUR PART TEST
In order to grant the requested variance, the request must meet all parts of a State
mandated four-part test. When reviewing a variance request, the Board may not grant a
variance that would do the following:
• Allow the establishment of a use not otherwise permitted in a zoning district;
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• Extend physically a nonconforming use of land;
• Change zoning district boundaries shown on the Sumter City-County Official
Zoning Map.
The fact that a property may be utilized more profitably should a variance be granted
shall not be considered grounds for approving a variance request. In granting a variance,
the Board may attach to it such conditions regarding location, character, or other features
of the proposed building, structure, or use as the Board may consider advisable to
promote the public health, safety, or general welfare.
Staff Review:
1) There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular
piece of property.
The subject property is 0.42 acres in size, and the lot’s characteristics are similar to
those of the other properties in the vicinity, all of which are part of the Twin Lakes
Subdivision.
Staff does not view this site as having any extraordinary or exceptional conditions.
The applicant has indicated that the reason the fence was installed with the finished
side facing inward was to avoid the fence contractor from having to access the
property of the adjacent owner to construct the fence. An adversarial relationship
exists between these two property owners.
2) These conditions do not generally apply to other property in the vicinity.
The shape and size of the lot at 1126 Shoreland Dr. is typical of lots in the Twin
Lakes Subdivision. Under the Sumter County Zoning and Development Standards
Ordinance, all properties are required to abide by the fencing regulations contained in
Article 4.
3) Because of these conditions, the application of the ordinance to the particular piece
of property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the utilization of the
property.
Under the current Ordinance, the applicant can construct a fence up to 6 ft. in height
on the property line, as long as there are no structures on the adjoining lot closer to
the property line than 6 ft. The only element of the Ordinance regulations regarding
fencing that is impacted by this request is that the finished side of the fence must face
outward. Thus, the property owner is permitted under the Ordinance to have a
privacy fence, they are simply required to construct the fence such that the finished
side faces the neighbor instead of the side with rails and posts showing, which is a
generally accepted standard for fence construction. In the alternative, the property
owner could construct a double-sided privacy fence via “sandwich construction,”
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with finished sides facing in both directions, which would also be Ordinance
compliant.
4) The authorization of a variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent
property or to the public good, and the granting of the variance will not harm the
character of the district.
The purpose of regulating the size, location, and visual appearance of fencing is to
ensure consistency, compatibility, and avoid negative impacts to surrounding
properties.
Staff finds that the authorization of this variance request could be of substantial
determinant to adjacent property and to the public good by establishing a precedent
for alternative configurations of fencing. Further, the granting of the variance could
harm the character of the R-15 zoning district in which the property is located by
allowing inconsistent fencing styles.
IV. STAFF RECOMMENDATION
As proposed, the front yard fence configuration is not compliant with the Sumter County
Zoning and Development Standards Ordinance, as the finished side of the fence faces the
property on which it was constructed, rather than facing the adjacent property as is
required by Ordinance.
Staff has no recommendations concerning additional approval conditions if the Board of
Zoning Appeals (BZA) makes the necessary findings to approve this request.
V. DRAFT MOTIONS FOR BOA-22-05
A. I move that the Zoning Board of Appeals deny BOA-22-05, subject to the
findings of fact and conclusions developed by the BZA and so stated:
B. I move that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve BOA-22-05, subject to the
following findings of fact and conclusions:
C. I move that the Zoning Board of Appeals enter an alternative motion for BOA-22-
05.
VI. BOARD OF APPEALS – APRIL 13, 2022
The Sumter City – County Board of Appeals at its meeting on Wednesday, April 13,
2022, deferred this request until the next meeting on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
V. BOARD OF APPEALS – MAY 11, 2022
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