Zoning history
Russell, whose primary residence is in the same gated Dallas area community former President George W. Bush calls home, originally purchased the lot he now wants to build upon on Aug. 13, 2013 through 187 San Roy Beach Holdings LLC. The property was in foreclosure at the time of the purchase and the limited liability corporation bought it for $900,100, Walton Property Appraiser records show.
On Oct. 31, 2016, having built a home on the lot and made what O’Rourke estimated to be more than $1 million in improvements to the property, 187 San Roy Beach Holdings sold a section of the original lot to Patco Energy LTD for $6.5 million.
O’Rourke’s client, Patricia Stephens, is a principle in Patco Energy, which, like San Roy Beach Holdings, is based in Dallas.
“He netted probably $4.1 million (on the sale of part of the original lot) and now he wants to build a 12,000-square-foot home,” O’Rourke said of Russell.
The lot Russell maintains today is bordered on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, on the west by the Eastern Lake outfall and to the north by the 33-foot county right of way.
Because it exists in a coastal protection zone, the Department of Environmental Protection must approve any building permits, Shipman told the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and the only area approved for construction is in the northeast corner of the lot abutting the 33 foot right-of-way.
Shipman, who is adamant that receiving the variance is only the first step in what will be a long process toward actually building on the lot owned by Russell, argued before the Zoning Board of Adjustment that the county had historically made exceptions to allow for construction inside set backs.
It had, in fact, approved previous construction on the Russell lot based on the Planning Department interpretation of county development code that Carpenter now maintains is flawed.
The home built on the lot Russell sold was built in the right-of-way setback in the pre-Carpenter era. Carpenter argued before the Board of Zoning Adjustment that the flaws in the concept are clear from photos of the home.
“That home was sited within the public right-of-way and if you look at pictures you can see a number of cars parked in the right-of-way,” Carpenter told the Board of Zoning Adjustment. “That we don’t do any more.”
Russell’s company had not encountered trouble obtaining county letters approving a setback variance until 2017, when a new letter of consistency was requested from the Walton County Planning Department to present to DEP.
The letter was needed due to modifications made at the home site plan to accommodate parking. Carpenter told them no.
Previous letters of consistency, he told the Board of Zoning Adjustment, “were issued in error.”
Zoning Board of Adjustment
Joe Johnson, the chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, made it clear from the beginning and maintained throughout the May 24 meeting that he believed Russell is entitled to develop his San Roy Road property.
Though another member did, Johnson never questioned the size of the home the property owner sought to squeeze onto a universally acknowledged limited buildable footprint.
“To me it’s real simple,” Johnson said.
O’Rourke, however, pointed out that previous allowances for construction on the parcel Russell, and prior owners, had sought to develop were provided for a lot that was basically twice the size of the one for which 187 San Roy Holdings was seeking its variance.
Russell chopped the parcel approximately in half before selling land to Patco Energy in 2016, O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke objected to the contention that a variance should be issued based on the fact variances had been issued before, or that the Russell parcel had been deemed suitable for development in the past.
Johnson waved off O’Rourke’s contention that, given the profit he’s already made on the San Roy Road parcel, Russell’s argument of hardship lacked substance.
In sustaining a Shipman objection, Johnson didn’t allow O’Rourke to present evidence the attorney said would make it clear the type of environmental harm that could be done by building a 12,000-square-foot house on top of a primary sand dune next to the outfall of a coastal dune lake.
“If this variance is granted you will be facilitating environmental damage that is irremediable,” he told the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
O’Rourke said following the vote to grant the variance that he will appeal the board’s decision.
“What seemed to underlie everything the county did was based on ‘he’s entitled to build something,’ ” he said. “A, that’s not in their purview and B, I don’t think it’s established.”
O’Rourke said Friday he’d learned the order granting the variance had been submitted a week earlier without anyone informing him of the action. The move would not impact his ability to submit the appeal in a timely fashion, he said.
The vote
The public was allowed to speak to the Board of Zoning Adjustment following O’Rourke’s presentation. Most called for rejection of the request for variance.
It was resident Clifford White who might have coined the term “megahouse” in referring to Russell’s construction plans. He told the board that he, as a coastal dune lake property owner, had learned to abide by Walton County’s strict rules for development around the unique ecosystems.
He called upon Russell to do the same.
“The rules are in place to preserve these natural resources. Coastal dune lakes are one of the most special places in the county and in the world,” White said. “We live by the rules, but what we’re hearing, effectively, is ‘we don’t want to live by the rules, do something special for us so we can build this megahouse.’ ”
During discussion that followed the debate, board member Daryl Burgis commented on the extent of the hardship Russell must endure building within a coastal protection zone with water on two sides of his property. Board member Phil Anderson warned him “don’t confuse hardships with constraints.”
After the debate was over, a motion to deny the variance narrowly failed. The vote to approve then passed, with Fletcher and Anderson voting against.
O’Rourke’s appeal of the decision will go to the Walton County Commission for consideration. The variance granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be submitted to DEP with a request to amend parking provisions at the Russell property.