Zoning Board of Appeals

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AGENDA JANUARY 16, 2019 7:00 PM CITY HALL A. Roll Call B. Approval of Minutes: December 19, 2018 C. Approval of Agenda D. Old Business: (None) E. New Business: V2018-007 Noah Huffman. Request to encroach into the required 25’ impervious setback area landward of the required 50’ stream buffer to allow a rear addition to an existing single-family home located at 5150 Thamesgate Close in Dist. 6, Land Lot 331, 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 December 19, 2018 7:00PM The City of Peachtree Corners held a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. The meeting was held at City Hall, 310 Technology Parkway, 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 Matthew Gries, Post D James Blum, Post E Scott Busby, Attorney Staff: Diana Wheeler, Com. Dev. Director Jeff Conkle, Planning & Zoning Admin. David Rhodes, City Attorney Kym Chereck, City Clerk NEW BUSINESS: PH2018-015 DDCB, Inc. An appeal of an administrative decision regarding a proposed self-storage facility at 4779 Peachtree Corners Circle in Dist. 6, Land Lot 301, Peachtree Corners, GA. Simon Bloom of Bloom Parham provided background information regarding the property located at 4779 Peachtree Corners Circle, from 1970 to current date. Mr. Bloom provided various handouts which are available via the City Clerks’ office. Diana Wheeler, Community Development Director, provided background information regarding the property located at 4779 Peachtree Corners Circle, prior to the City’s enactment of Ordinance 2016-01-64 to current date. A motion was made after discussion. MOTION THAT WE AFFIRM THE ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION ON CASE PH2018-015 DDCD, INC. By: Marcia Brandes Seconded: Matthew Gries Vote: (4-1) (Brandes, Gries, Knox, Regmi) (Blum denied) Page | 1  DRAFT COPY MINUTES: Approval of September 19, 2018 Minutes. MOTION TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 MINUTES. By: Amreeta Regmi Seconded: Matthew Gries Vote: (5-0) (Regmi, Gries, Knox, Blum, Brandes) CITY BUSINESS ITEMS: Mrs. Wheeler stated that there will be a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on January 16, 2019. COMMENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS: None. AJDOURNMENT: MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:10 PM. By: Matthew Gries Seconded: James Blum Vote: (5-0) Gries, Blum, Knox, Brandes, Regmi) Approved, Attest: _________________________ ___________________________________ Wayne Knox, Chairman Kymberly Chereck, City Clerk Page | 2  V2018-007 5150 Thamesgate Close  City of Peachtree Corners Zoning Board of Appeals January 16, 2019 CASE NUMBER: V2018-007 PROPERTY LOCATION: 5150 Thamesgate Close 6th District, Land Lot 331, Parcel 401 CURRENT ZONING: R-100 PARCEL SIZE: 0.38 acres PROPERTY OWNER: Noah Huffman APPLICANT: Noah Huffman REQUEST The applicant would like to construct an addition to the rear of an existing single-family home. The proposed addition consists of a new living room and deck with roof, both of which would partially extend into the impervious setback area that extends 75’ from the creek that forms this parcel’s rear property line. LOCATION AND BACKGROUND The property in question is a single-family parcel on the west side of Thamesgate Close, a dead-end street that is accessed via neighborhood streets branching off East Jones Bridge Road. The property abuts a creek at the rear which eventually empties into the Chattahoochee River on the former FiServ property. The house was constructed in 1998. During the time of construction, the stream buffer regulations were not in place. The requirements for this and other buffers were enacted by Gwinnett County in 2005. Today’s regulations require a 50’ undisturbed natural vegetative buffer plus an additional 25’ impervious setback (totaling 75’ from the creek). The addition is proposed to extend variously from 3’ to 7’ into the impervious setback. 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 This house was constructed prior to adoption of the current stream buffer regulations. The lot itself was also platted prior to these regulations. Recently, the property owner became interested in constructing the addition that was planned years ago but never built. After discussion with staff, the owner and contractor were not able to find an alternative location for the addition that would fit structurally with the home while avoiding the stream buffer area. The average size of the homes in this immediate area is 2,897 square feet, which is significantly larger than the owner’s 2,040 square feet. Even with the extra 360 square feet of living space and 238 square feet of deck space proposed, an addition of this size would not be out of character for the neighborhood. CONCLUSION After reviewing the applicant’s proposal and the variance criteria, staff finds that the buffer encroachment may be justified, as there are conditions unique to the property that are not the result of any action of the current property owner. The property owner’s actions did not create the stream buffer requirements that were enacted after platting of the lot and construction of the house. Although the lot averages 180 ft. in depth, less than half of it is buildable because of the buffer requirements. And the existing house is already located as close to the front of the property as the building setback allows. If approval of the stream buffer variance is considered, the following condition is recommended: • The applicant shall not create any additional impervious area within the impervious setback beyond that which is shown on the attached plan prepared by James H. Carter and dated 11/20/2018. EXISTING CONDITIONS PROPOSED  CITY OF PEACHTREE CORNERS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 310 Technology Parkway, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 Tel: 678.691.1200 | www.cityofpeachtreecornersga.com PROPERTY LOCATION MAP 5150 Thamesgate Close CASE NUMBER V2018-007 HEARING DATE JANUARY 16, 2019 PROPERTY ADDRESS 5150 THAMESGATE CLOSE