Agenda Item 8D - Amendment to Sec 24-84CITY OF ATLANTIC B EACH
C ITY COMMl SSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM 118 0
AUGUST 11 ,2014
AGENDA ITE M : Reques t to amend Section 24-84 of th e City Code o f Ordinances related
to Throug h Lot s
SUBM IT T il:D BY: Jeremy llubsc h
Building an d Zo nin g D ircclor
DATE : J u ly 17,2014
STRATEGIC PLAN LINK: Non e
BA CKG ROUN D: On Ap ri l 14 ,20 14 , the C ity Com mi ss ion passe d Ordinance 90-14-222 as
presente d by the fo rme r Buil din g Dir ector. T hi s ordin ance s pecifica ll y re lates to throug h lots
betwee n Beach Avenue and Ocean Bou levard. T he code prior to thi s ordinance had a special
pro vis ion whi c h s tated th at o n through lo ts between Beach and Ocean, th e fr ont yard wa s to be
Ocean Bou levard and th e rear ya rd Beach Avenue . Thi s meant tl1at detac hed ga rages co uld be
built within 5' to J 0' of Beach Avenue , dep ending on the ir height.
The code change th at was im p lemented in Apr il took away the special provision th at allo wed th e
rear ya rd to be on Beach Avenue. The co de now reads that thro ugh lots between Be ac h and
Ocea n arc to be treated th e sa me as through lots elsewhere in the city. On throu gh lots elsew here
in th e city, both street facing s ides of the pr operty arc co nsidered the fr ont ya rd. T hi s mean s that
you cannot build detached garages, pools, or ot her accessory s tru ctu re s within 20 feet of the
street on eith er street frontage .
The co de section that previously allowed special co nsi deration for through lots between Beach
and Ocean was in p lace because of the uniqueness of Beach Avenue. Beach Aven ue is in m any
ways as much of an all eyway as it is a roa d . It is considered the r ear ya rd for ocean fro nt ho mes,
and ba s hi storica ll y been th e rear ya rd tor homes o n through lots between Beach and Ocea n. As
such, it is lined wi th detached garages and garage apatiments . The code as enacted will li mit the
bui ldable area of through lo ts bet wee n Beach and Ocea n, and po tentiall y lead to archit ectural
des igns that do not fit in with th e character of the area .
Staff beli eves th at th ere are so me unintend ed conseq uences of the code change and wo uld like
both th e Com munity Develo pm ent Board and Co mmi ssion co nsi der res tori ng back to its ori gin al
state.
BUDGET: None .
REC OMMENDATION: Direct staff to res tore Section 24-84 back lo its otigin al slate pri o r to th e
adoption o f Ordin ance 90-14-222.
ATTACHMENTS:
code and current code
Vi sua l represe ntatio n of ~ode change scena ri os, example of prev ious
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Through Lot Code Examples
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Figure 1. Example of original code, which all owed detached ga r ages on Beach Aven ue
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DCJ
AGENDA I TEM# 80
AUGUST I I , 2014
Figure 2. Example of code that was presented, which allows detached garages o n either street.
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Figure 3 . Exa mple of code t h at was enacted. Ga rages must be 20' from either road .
Previous Code
Sec. 24-84. Double frontage lots.
AGENDA ITEM# 80
AUGUST 11, 2014
(a) Double frontage lots. On double frontage lots, the required front yard shall be provided on
each street, except for lots as set forth below and as set forth in section 24-88.
(b) Special treatment of ocean-front Lots. For lots having frontage on the Atlantic Ocean, the
front yard shall be the yard which faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the required front yard shall
be measured from the lot line parallel to or nearest the ocean.
(c)Special treatment of Ocean Boulevard lots with double frontage. For double frontage lots
extending between Beach Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, the required front yard shall be the
yard, which faces Ocean Boulevard.
Current Code
Sec. 24-84. Double frontage lots.
(a) Double frontage lots. On double frontage lots, the required front yard shall be provided on
each street, except for lots as set forth below and as set forth in section 24-88.
(b) Special treatment of ocean-front Lots. For lots having frontage on the Atlantic Ocean, the
front yard shall be the yard which faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the required front yard shall
be measured from the lot line parallel to or nearest the ocean.
(c) Special treatment of Ocean Boulevard lots with double frontage. For double frontage lots
extending betvveen Beach /\venue and Ocean Boulevard, the required front yard shall be the
yard, which faces Ocean Boulevard.