Zoning Board of Appeals

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AGENDA JUNE 21, 2017 7:00 PM CITY HALL A. Roll Call B. Approval of Minutes: March 15, 2017 C. Approval of Agenda D. Old Business: (None) E. New Business: V2017-005 Tracy & Brad Leimbach. Consideration of the following variances to the City of Peachtree Corners Zoning Ordinance: Article XIII, Section 1301, to allow the keeping of livestock for personal pleasure and Article VI, Section 600, to allow an accessory structure in the front yard of a residential property. These variance requests are for 4040 Gunnin Road, located in Dist. 6, Land Lot 315, Peachtree Corners, GA F. City Business Items: (None) G. Comments by Board Members. H. Adjournment.  DRAFT COPY CITY OF PEACHTREE CORNERS ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES March 15, 2017 The City of Peachtree Corners held a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. The meeting was held at City Hall, 147 Technology Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA, 30092. The following were in attendance: Zoning Board of Appeals: Wayne Knox, Post B Marcia Brandes, Post A Amreeta Regmi, Post C - Absent Matthew Gries, Post D James Blum, Post E Staff: Diana Wheeler, Com. Dev. Director Rocio Monterrosa, Deputy City Clerk AGENDA: Approval of the January 18, 2017 agenda. MOTION TO APPROVE THE JANUARY 18, 2017 AGENDA. By: James Blum Seconded: Matthew Gries Vote: (4-0) (Blum, Gries, Regmi, Knox) MINUTES: Approval of September 21, 2016 Minutes. MOTION TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 By: James Blum Seconded: Matthew Gries Vote: (4-0) (Blum, Gries, Knox, Brandes) NEW BUSINESS: 1. V2017-004 MNI Direct. Consideration of a variance to the City of Peachtree Corners Zoning Ordinance Article XIV, Section 1401 in order to allow a 1’-0” side yard setback instead of the required 50’ side yard setback at 4300 Gilleland Lane, located in Dist. 6, Land Lot 251, Peachtree Corners, GA Page | 1  DRAFT COPY Diana Wheeler, Community Development Director, provided background information regarding the applicant’s request. The subject property is located at the corner of Jones Mill Road and Buford Highway and is now occupied by a new landscape company business. The surrounding area is mixed with residential and light industrial uses including an auto body shop, fleet service company and tree service business. Railroad tracks are located adjacent to the property. There are some detached single family homes on the same block as the subject property to the south and west of the site. Gwinnett County denied an application for a solid waste transfer station at this site on 7/25/2006. The property remained overgrown for years and appeared abandoned. The applicant, MNI Direct, a wholesale landscape company, leased the property late last year and has since cleaned it up. They removed weeds and debris and installed landscaping materials and shade structures. The company also maintained the 75 ft. buffer next to residential property along the subject site’s western boundary. The applicant has improved property that was in an unsightly condition and preserved a required buffer next to residential property. Shade structures were installed on the property to protect sensitive plants from overexposure to the sun during certain times of the year. The shade structures were placed with a north/south orientation on the property so that the plants receive morning and afternoon light, but avoid the intense mid-day sun. The site, itself, was chosen because it could accommodate this orientation for the shade structures. In order to maximize the functionality of the site while still preserving the 75 ft. residential buffer, the applicant seeks approval to keep the easternmost shade structure which was installed next to the property line along Jones Mill Rd. The applicant’s representative, Mr. Tim Rogers, was present at the meeting. Mr. Rogers stated that the intent of the shade structure is to protect plants sensitive to light from the afternoon sun. They’ve just completed planting trees around the property that will eventually give them even more shade needed to protect their plants. He also stated that they are not a retail company and are not out in a major road and their current location fulfills their company needs. Chairman Knox opened the floor to anyone wanting to speak in favor or opposition to the application. There were no comments. A motion was made after discussion, among other items, there are hardship conditions specific to this property that are based on the needs of the business and the north/south orientation of the site. BASED ON A THOROUGH REVIEW OF THE ENTIRE RECORD AND THE HEARING BEFORE THIS BODY, I MOVE THAT THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MAKE THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS AND GRANT THE VARIANCE ON THE BASES THAT (1) THERE ARE EXTRAORDINARY AND EXCEPTIONAL CONDITIONS PERTAINING TO THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY IN QUESTION BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE, SHAPE OR TOPOGRAPHY; AND, (2) THE REQUIREMENTS ON THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF PROPERTY WOULD CREATE UNNECESSARY Page | 2  DRAFT COPY HARDSHIP; AND, (3) SUCH CONDITIONS ARE PARTICULAR PIECE OF PROPERTY INVOLVED; AND, (4) SUCH CONDITIONS ARE NOT THE RESULT OF ANY ACTIONS OF THE PROPERTY OWNER; AND, (5) RELIEF, IF GRANTED, WOULD NOT CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL DETRIMENT TO THE PUBLIC GOOD NOR IMPAIR THE PURPOSES OR INTENT OF THE RESOLUTION By: James Blum Seconded: Matthew Gries Vote: (4-0) (Blum, Gries, Knox, Brandes) CITY BUSINESS ITEMS: Diana Wheeler, Community Development Director, informed the Board that there would be no meeting in April. COMMENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS: None. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting concluded at 7:29 PM. Approved, Attest: _________________________ _______________________________ Wayne Knox, Chairman Rocio Monterrosa, Deputy City Clerk Page | 3  V2017-005 4040 Gunnin Road  City of Peachtree Corners Zoning Board of Appeals June 21, 2017 CASE NUMBER: V2017-005 PROPERTY LOCATION: 4040 Gunnin Road 6th District, Land Lot 315, Parcel 035 CURRENT ZONING: R-100 PARCEL SIZE: 2.74 acres PROPERTY OWNER: Tracy & Brad Leimbach APPLICANT: Tracy & Brad Leimbach REQUEST The applicant would like to keep chickens on a 2.74-acre property zoned R-100 and to have an accessory structure used for housing the chickens in the front yard of an existing single-family property. The minimum lot size for the keeping of chickens is 3 acres. Additionally, accessory structures cannot be located in the front yard and must be 100’ from all property lines when housing chickens. Both the chickens and chicken coop (a prefabricated shed) have been in existence on the property for the past four years. Code Enforcement was unaware of this situation until 3 months ago when a complaint call was received. LOCATION AND BACKGROUND The property in question is a large residential parcel on Gunnin Road approximately one-half mile north of Spalding Drive. The property is steeply sloped with the home and usable yard area elevated above the road. The house was built in 1973. Zoning Timeline, Previous Owner Prior to the current owners, this property was owned by Racebrook, Inc. from 2002 to 2012. This company operated a missionary and housing facility for leaders of the Legionnaires of Christ religious organization. • Oct. 22, 2004: Special Use Permit (SUP) 2004-053 is granted by Gwinnett County for a missionary and dormitory for up to 10 female residents. This SUP was valid for a period of two years. • Jul. 13, 2006: SUP 2006-0077 is granted by the county with the same conditions as the previous approval. This SUP was valid for four years. • Mar. 2, 2010: Change In Conditions (CIC) 2010-004 is granted by the county with the amended condition that the 10 residents can be of either sex. This CIC was valid for two years. • Mar. 2, 2012: The permit expires and the use ceases.  • Aug. 31, 2012: The property is sold to Tracy & Brad Leimbach, the current owners. Zoning Timeline, Current Owners Upon purchase of the property by the Leimbachs on Aug. 31, 2012, it returned to a single-family residential use. • Mid-2013: Property owners begin keeping chickens on the property. • Late-2013: Property owners place the shed on the property to provide a shelter for the chickens and build a small, elevated deck next to it. • Mar. 10, 2017: City code enforcement staff looked into the property after receiving a complaint that chickens were being kept on site. Photos of the site were taken that day. • Mar. 12, 2017: A notice of violation was sent to the property owner for the keeping of chickens on a lot that does not meet the minimum acreage and for the construction of an accessory structure without a permit. • May 30, 2017: After several discussions with code enforcement staff and zoning staff, the applicant chose to file a variance application. Staff received multiple emails and phone calls from surrounding property owners in opposition to this request. A petition stating specific neighbor opposition was then circulated among neighbors and submitted to the City. It is attached to this report along with a map prepared by Staff that shows the location of residents who signed the petition. VARIANCE REQUIREMENTS Sec. 1605.3 identifies specific findings that must be made in order for a variance to be granted. These findings are as follows: A. There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular property in question because of its size, shape or topography, and B. the requirements on this particular piece of property would create an unnecessary hardship, and C. such conditions are peculiar to the particular piece of property involved, and D. such conditions are not the result of any actions of the property owner, and E. relief, if granted, would not cause substantial detriment to the public good nor impair the purposes or intent of this Resolution. ANALYSIS Setback and location request (accessory structure housing chickens): The applicant’s letter of intent indicates that their hardship is derived from the fact that their property is steeply sloped and has little flat land available for accessory structures other than in the front yard. Additionally, they state that it would be a hardship to try to move the structures. Use request (keeping of chickens): The applicant’s letter of intent indicates that their hardship is derived from the fact that the chickens currently housed on the property are family pets and would have nowhere to go if they were to be removed. COMMUNITY CONCERNS Staff received the attached petition of opposition from nearby property owners in the River Valley Estates subdivision. The petition indicates that the basis for the opposition is concern related to factors such as noise, odor, and runoff. In response to the concerns raised in the petition, staff visited the applicant’s property to assess the existing site conditions, determine if hardships exist and if neighbor concerns can be substantiated. Based on Staff’s site visit, the following observations are offered: 1. The applicant’s property is not typical for the neighborhood. Its topography, size, and shape are unique. 2. The house sits at the top of a hill and the only level part of the property is located in front of the house. The back and side yards are steep slopes with almost no usability. 3. There are 17 chickens housed in a prefabricated shed with an attached deck located in the front yard. The entire area where the chickens are kept is fenced, well maintained, and decorated as an outdoor feature, not as a utilitarian part of the property. 4. Staff heard no noise from the chickens. The sound the chickens made would not have been audible beyond the property line. No roosters are kept on the property and the applicant stated that none have ever been kept on the property. • With regard to odor and runoff, Staff did not smell any unusual odors and did not observe any areas where runoff contaminated by chicken waste was present. The area where the chickens are kept was very clean and if runoff occurs during wet weather, the slope of the property would carry the water toward the street at the front, not the properties to the rear. • With regard to food issues, Staff did not observe any stockpiling of food in uncontained areas of the property. Any food and water provided appears to be stored within the shed. CONCLUSION Staff noted that the petition opposing the applicant’s request was written in future tense. This suggests that some of the neighbors may not be aware that the chickens and shed have been in existence on the applicant’s property for the past 4 years. There were no complaints from any property owners until three months ago. The applicant believes that the reason for the initial complaint to code enforcement results from a dispute between neighbors rather than any particular issue with the chickens. Although located in the front yard, the chickens are not visible from the street. In fact, the steep topography hampers visibility of any of the improvements on the property from the roadway. The applicant has indicated that they are trying to acquire additional land from neighbors so that they will have the code required 3 acres. If they are successful in purchasing additional land, then the lot size variance will become unnecessary. Setback and location request (accessory structure housing chickens): After reviewing the applicant’s request and the variance criteria, staff finds that the setback and location variance requests can be supported due to the specific, unique topographic conditions of this property. Use request (keeping of chickens): After reviewing the applicant’s request and the variance criteria, staff finds that a hardship would be difficult to justify since the hardship created was self-imposed by purchasing chickens to be kept on a property that does not the minimum lot size to permit such use. Recommended conditions if approved: The following conditions are offered if variances are considered: 1. A 4’ high fence shall be constructed in the front yard of the property, parallel to Gunnin Rd. and located at the top of the hillside. 2. There shall be no other livestock kept on the property beyond the 17 chickens currently housed on the property. 3. No roosters shall be kept on the property. If variances are not granted, then a timeline for removal of the chickens and front yard structures should be established.  PHOTOS – 4040 GUNNIN RD Above: Property viewed from Gunnin Road. A steep hillside separates the road from the top of the property. Above: Shed and chicken area at the top of the property.  CITY OF PEACHTREE CORNERS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 147 Technology Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 Tel: 678.691.1200 | www.cityofpeachtreecornersga.com PROPERTY LOCATION MAP 4040 Gunnin Road V2017-005 CASE NUMBER: HEARING DATE: June 21, 2017 PROPERTY ADDRESS: 4040 Gunnin Road