SUBJECT:
Title
441 Modular Home Dealership - Major Site Plan - 000762 - Waiver Request to Major Site Plan in Review
Parcel #: 36943-000-00 # WaiverPIR-001450-2026
Tillman & Associates Engineering, LLC
This item is in consideration of a previously heard waiver request (WaiverPIR-001045-2026) from the 7/20/26 DRC Meeting.
LDC 6.8.6.K Buffers (2013 code) Eastern Buffer - Shrubs & Groundcover gap
CODE states Description of buffer classifications. The content and composition of each buffer type is described in the following items. The design professional shall use these requirements to design buffers that are thoughtfully designed and enhance perimeter of the development site. Visual screening shall be achieved through the use of proper plant material, arrangement, and layering. (3) C-Type buffer shall consist of a 15-foot wide landscape strip without a buffer wall. The buffer shall contain at least two shade trees and three accent/ornamental trees for every 100 lineal feet or fractional part thereof. Shrubs and groundcovers, excluding turfgrass, shall comprise at least 50 percent of the required buffer and form a layered landscape screen with a minimum height of three feet achieved within one year.
APPLICANT - Northern Buffer: The northern 15 feet of the property is required to provide a C-Type Buffer with ground cover and shrubs in accordance with County Code. This area is already heavily wooded and contains substantial mature native vegetation, including existing trees and established ground cover. The Applicant requests approval to utilize the existing native vegetation in lieu of installing additional shrubs and ground cover [where existing vegetation occurs]. The existing native vegetation is mature, established, and well adapted to the site conditions, requiring no supplemental irrigation beyond natural rainfall. Requiring removal or disturbance of the existing vegetation and installation of new plant material would also require irrigation infrastructure to be installed through an already established mature tree root system, creating unnecessary site disturbance and additional construction and maintenance costs. To preserve the natural mature trees’ root systems, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) would be advised instead of open cut trenching for irrigation piping. However, HDD runs about $18 to $110+ per linear foot due to specialized equipment and skilled labor. In the 50 lineal feet (of approx. 850 lf) of gap where no understory exists and the public view of project site is bare, a 6 foott opaque fence per Marion County LDC shall be installed and maintained in perpetuity. However, the fence may be removed upon notice to Marion County Landscape Department at time native existing vegetation meets the C-Type buffer requirements. This alternative will maintain the intended buffering and screening function of the C-Type Buffer while preserving existing native vegetation, minimizing disturbance to mature trees and root systems, reducing irrigation demands, and providing a more feasible and sustainable landscape solution for the existing site conditions.
6.8.6.K - Buffers. (2013 code) Eastern Buffer - Shrubs & Groundcover gap
CODE states Description of buffer classifications. The content and composition of each buffer type is described in the following items. The design professional shall use these requirements to design buffers that are thoughtfully designed and enhance perimeter of the development site. Visual screening shall be achieved through the use of proper plant material, arrangement, and layering.
(3) C-Type buffer shall consist of a 15-foot wide landscape strip without a buffer wall. The buffer shall contain at least two shade trees and three accent/ornamental trees for every 100 lineal feet or fractional part thereof. Shrubs and groundcovers, excluding turfgrass, shall comprise at least 50 percent of the required buffer and form a layered landscape screen with a minimum height of three feet achieved within one year.
APPLICANT Eastern Buffer: The eastern 15 feet of the property is required to provide a C-Type Buffer with ground cover and shrubs in accordance with County Code. This area is already heavily wooded and contains substantial mature native vegetation, including existing trees and established ground cover. The Applicant requests approval to utilize the existing native vegetation in lieu of installing additional shrubs and ground cover [where existing vegetation occurs]. The existing native vegetation is mature, established, and well adapted to the site conditions, requiring no supplemental irrigation beyond natural rainfall. Requiring removal or disturbance of the existing vegetation and installation of new plant material would also require irrigation infrastructure to be installed through an already established mature tree root system, creating unnecessary site disturbance and additional construction and maintenance costs. To preserve the natural mature trees’ root systems, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) would be advised instead of open cut trenching for irrigation piping. However, HDD runs about $18 to $110+ per linear foot due to specialized equipment and skilled labor. In the 100 lineal feet (of 1,218 lf) of gap where no understory exists and the public view of project site is bare, a 6 ft opaque fence per Marion County LDC shall be installed and maintained in perpetuity. However, the fence may be removed upon notice to Marion County Landscape Department at time native existing vegetation meets the C-Type buffer requirements. The proposed fence, combined with the 100-foot railroad right-of-way and approximately 160 feet of mature, wooded vegetation in the adjacent residential Summercrest HOA natural open space tract, provides substantial screening from the adjacent residential subdivision. This alternative will maintain the intended buffering and screening function of the C-Type Buffer while preserving existing native vegetation, minimizing disturbance to mature trees and root systems, reducing irrigation demands, and providing a more feasible and sustainable landscape solution for the existing site conditions.
2.21.1.A - Applicability
CODE states A Major Site Plan shall be submitted for review and approval prior to the issuance of a Building Permit or prior to the construction of site improvements when proposed improvements exceed any of the following thresholds: (1) Collectively, all existing and proposed impervious ground coverage equals or exceeds the lesser of 35 percent of the gross site area or 9,000 square feet; (2) The combined driveway trip generation meets or exceeds 50 peak hour vehicle trips; or (3) A 24-inch diameter pipe, its equivalent, or larger is utilized to discharge stormwater runoff from the project area.
APPLICANT The waiver is requested to allow early site work start, at the Developer’s risk prior to final major site plan approval. Silt fence was recently installed after gopher tortoise relocation. Early site work will facilitate timely site cleanup, and continued coordination with County Staff and adjacent property owners to resolve outstanding property, easement, and buffer matters. The waiver will be limited to specified work, including earthwork, buffer installation, approved tree removal, and stormwater facilities. Tree protection fencing and other sediment control BMPs will be installed before earthwork.
Body
end