The Deerfield Beach City Commission on an unspecified meeting date approved a variance to permit on-site filling of customer propane tanks at the Ace Hardware store on Federal Highway, with a 4–1 roll-call vote.

Supporters said on-site filling would improve emergency access to fuel during storms. A store representative argued the change responds to repeated shortfalls: "We've gone through a 125 tanks that we exchange right now. We ran out of them in a couple of hours," the representative said, adding that a refill tank would let the store serve more customers during outages.

The issue drew objections from nearby residents of the Belamar condominium, who cited proximity and property-value concerns. Linda Fitzpatrick, a Belamar owner, told the commission she and other residents had opposed a similar proposal in 2011 because of the tanks' closeness to apartments and past plans that included chlorine storage.

City staff said the store's proposed installation meets state and federal permitting guidelines and that the code section at issue prohibits "outdoor sales" in the zoning district; staff interpreted the proposal as an outdoor dispensing activity that is already common (exchanging customer tanks) but would gain the additional activity of filling on site. Eric Power, director of planning and development services, explained the city's code does not permit outdoor sales in the district and that the current proposal required a variance because propane filling cannot occur indoors.

Brad Lewis, general manager for Suburban (Broward and Palm Beach), testified on safety practices and said there have been more than 200 dispenser stations throughout Florida with no reportable incident to the state in over a decade. He described industry training and safety protocols for commercial dispensing.

Commissioners debated safety, precedent and need. Commissioner Hudak, who said he lives near the store, invoked the store's community service and supported the variance. Commissioner Preston and Vice Mayor Droski also voted yes. Commissioner Barnes voted no, citing lingering safety concerns and proximity to 90 Belamar condominium units. Several commissioners noted the proposal differed from the 2011 plan (which included chlorine) and pointed to a revised site plan with buffering and parking adjustments.

City staff and the applicant provided technical clarifications: the installed reservoir will be a 1,000-gallon tank (filled to approximately 90 percent, or about 900 gallons usable), which the applicant estimated would be sufficient to refill roughly 210–250 standard customer cylinders per delivery; the store currently exchanges about 125 cylinders when fully stocked.

The commission's approval was a variance limited to the outdoor filling use as presented; staff said the installation will follow permitting and inspection requirements. The motion to approve was made by Commissioner Hudak and seconded by Commissioner Preston; roll-call recorded Hudak (yes), Barnes (no), Preston (yes), Vice Mayor Droski (yes), Mayor Gans (yes).

The decision resolves a long-running request from the store operator dating back to a 2011 denial, and commissioners said the upgrade is intended to improve resiliency during storms while relying on federal and state safety standards and local permitting oversight.

Votes at a glance: the variance passed 4–1 (Hudak, Preston, Vice Mayor Droski, Mayor Gans — yes; Barnes — no).