Sabra Mazcyk
BLYTHEWOOD – The Board of Zoning Appeals elected a new chairwoman on Monday evening. Vice Chairwoman Sabra Mazcyk was elected unanimously to fill the seat left vacant by former Chairman Bob Massa who gave up his seat on the board when he was elected to Town Council last November. Longtime board member Pat Littlejohn was elected Vice Chairman.
The Board then heard a request by subdivision owners DR Horton and Crown Builders for a special exception regarding a decorative wall they want to build at the entrance to Holly Bluff subdivision. The subdivision is located on Blythewood Road near the intersection with Fulmer Road.
Landscape designer Richard Soltice, acting as agent for the owners, explained that in an effort to add a pleasing entrance to the subdivision, his design company, Saluda Hill, had included a 30-inch tall stone and brick wall that would encroach about 8 feet into a lot at the entrance to the subdivision. Soltice explained that no one had yet purchased the lot, so there was no objection to the wall from any property owner. He said those who purchase front end lots such as this one are frequently happy to have esthetically pleasing landscaped structures such as this wall adjoining their properties. After some discussion and no objections from neighboring properties, the Board voted unanimously to grant the special exception.
The Town’s Planning and Zoning consultant, Michael Criss, announced that the Board would most likely be called to convene again on July 14. While the Board only meets when an issue is brought before it, Criss said he expected another application to be filed prior to the mid-July date. The BZA is a quasi-judicial board whose rulings are appealed to the Circuit Court.
