Cocoa Beach board approves variances to allow open-air RV shelter, with 500-sq.-ft. cap

The City of Cocoa Beach Board of Adjustment on a 5-0 vote approved two variances for property owner Jeremy (first-name only), allowing construction of an open-sided accessory structure over a parked recreational vehicle and granting relief from the side-yard setback and the height limit.

The variances—requested as part of case PZ-26-13—would reduce the required side setback from 10 feet to 6 feet and permit a detached accessory structure height of 15 feet 4 inches, compared with the 12-foot cap applied to detached structures. The applicant told the board the structure must be detached and shifted outward because utilities (a gas-burning generator, pool equipment, gas meter and air-conditioning equipment) sit between the home and the proposed shelter. "It’s not possible to build with a generator, a pool pump. There’s a gas meter there," Jeremy said, describing the site constraint. He said the proposed open-air structure would house a 35-foot RV.

Why it matters: staff and the board said this proceeding addressed only the two noticed variance requests—setback and height—and that other regulatory requirements (including the 500-square-foot cap on detached accessory buildings and building-permit technical reviews) remain enforceable through the city’s permitting process. City staff recommended and the board included in its approval a condition that the final structure conform to the Land Development Code’s 30%-of-primary-structure rule capped at 500 square feet.

Board members repeatedly emphasized deference to the code and to property rights where no neighboring opposition was on record. One board member said, in sum, that if the RV can be parked legally in the side yard, "it's much better to have a very fancy structure wrapped around it than just an RV," and several members said they were inclined to support the homeowner’s request absent opposition. The board also heard a caution from legal counsel to limit deliberations to relevant code criteria because variances are quasi-judicial and decisions grounded on non-code factors could lead to legal challenges.

City staff walked through the code language pulled from the Cocoa Beach Land Development Code and summarized staff interpretation of parking rules for recreational vehicles: vehicles over 26 feet may be parked in a side yard if they meet setback and screening conditions (set back at least 2 feet from an abutting property line and, where within 10 feet of an adjacent property, screened by a 6-foot opaque fence). Staff said the applicant’s existing parking location met the applicable spacing requirement as interpreted in this case.

The vote and conditions: A motion to approve the variances passed on a roll call vote, with Don Haynes, John Kabort (name appears elsewhere in the record as Boort), Michael Goldberg, Rick Anderson and Carolyn Willis recorded as voting yes. The board’s order includes standard conditions that the development be substantially consistent with the submitted site-plan materials for PZ-26-13, that the detached accessory structure comply with the 30%-cap (up to 500 square feet), that all required building permits and applicable development approvals be obtained before construction, and that all other provisions of the Cocoa Beach Land Development Code be complied with.

What happens next: The applicant said he will proceed with the two noticed variance requests and adjust the structure’s final dimensions through the building-permit review to meet the 500-square-foot cap if necessary. City staff said the building-permit review will route the project to the appropriate technical reviewers (building, fire, engineering, stormwater and other departments) and will enforce code requirements not addressed in the variance hearing.

Staff announcements and closing: After the vote, staff noted they had reflowed the agenda packet on the city website and introduced Kristen Harris, who will take the meeting minutes. The board then moved to other reports and adjourned its business for the night.