Board of Adjustments

Rome-Floyd Board of Adjustments Minutes Location: City Hall Commission Chambers Date: Thursday, November 21st, 2024 Time: 2:31 PM PLEASE REFER TO THE VIDEO RECORDING FOR FULL DETAIL OF THE MEETING CALL TO ORDER Meeting convened: 2:31 p.m. led by Chair Clonts. Determination of Quorum (4 of 7 needed) P– MEMBER Notes STAFF Present Z– Zoom P Doug Walker- City of Rome A Cameron Abney Vice Chair P Frank Beacham - City Attorney A Frank Brown P Chris Jackson – County Attorney P David Clonts Chair A Bruce Ivey – County Manager P Jonathan Harris P Meredith Ulmer – Asst City Manager P Wendy Lignell P James Martin – Building Official P Andrew Saville P Brice Wood – Director - Planning Department P Michelle Kite – Associate Planner A Sophie Darbonne, Planning Technician Public (from sign-in sheet): Michael Davis, Dawn Stephens, Stephen Oliver, Greg Major, Melissa Schwartz, Bill Jones, Steve Kelley, Wayne Robinson Welcome and Introduction of Visitors Clonts welcomed the public to the meeting and requested that all visitors sign in. Approval of Minutes from October 2024 Meeting Lignell motioned to approve the minutes from the October meeting and Saville seconded the motion. The motion passed by common consent. Approval/Modification of Agenda No modifications were requested to the agenda. The agenda was approved by common consent. 1 ROME/FLOYD ZONING VARIANCE APPLICATIONS: BOA24-09-05, for the property at 313 Riverside Pkwy. (0 Riverside Pkwy. as listed on the Parcel Viewer), Rome, GA 30161, Floyd County Tax Parcel J13Y008, being zoned Community Commercial (C-C), requests to reduce the rear setback from 20’ to 4’. Director Wood presented the application, staff report, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Hollis Ledbetter, the owner of the parent parcel, was present to speak in favor of the application. Ledbetter explained that the existing structure of the property lines saves time and money, thus they do not plan to move forward with a survey project. Ledbetter stated that they would not desire to sell the property. Greg Major was present to speak in favor of the application and how it will help to move traffic faster and to keep employees out of the weather. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members. Lignell made a motion to approve on the condition that a survey be completed and approved by 12/31/2025 to clean up property lines, which was seconded by Harris. The motion passed by a vote of 4- 0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts Y Andrew Saville Frank Brown S Jonathan Harris M Wendy Lignell BOA24-09-01, for the property at 997 Burnett Ferry Rd., Rome, GA 30165, Floyd County Tax Parcel G14W156, being zoned Suburban Residential (S-R), requests to install 6’ fence closer to the right-of-way than the principal structure. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendations. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. No one was present to speak in favor or in opposition to the request. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members. Saville motioned to approve as submitted, seconded by Lignell. The motion passed, 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts M Andrew Saville Frank Brown Y Jonathan Harris S Wendy Lignell 2 BOA24-09-03, for the property at 0 Eden Valley Rd., Rome, GA 30161, Floyd County Tax Parcel I16W014A, being zoned High Density Traditional Residential (H-T-R), requests to reduce the front setback of Lots 23,27 and 28 from 25’ to 9’, to reduce the front setback of Lots 24,25 and 26 from 25’ to 5’, and to reduce the front setback of Lot 22 from 25’ to 15’. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendations. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Bernie Smith was present to speak in favor of the application and to answer any questions. The lot depths make the site difficult to build. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members. Saville made a motion to approve the front setback reduction to 8‘ for lots 23,24,25,26,27 and 28 and to reduce the front setback of lot 22 to 15’on the condition that the HOA has a restriction of no parking on the street overnight, this was seconded by Lignell and passed by a vote of 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts M Andrew Saville Frank Brown Y Jonathan Harris S Wendy Lignell BOA24-09-06, for the property at 2200 Shorter Ave., Rome, GA 30165, Floyd County Tax Parcel H13W392, being zoned Community Commercial (C-C), requests to reduce the rear setback from 30’ to 0’, requests relief from 4.1.25 (a) to the standard setbacks. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Stephen Oliver, of Murphy USA, was present to speak on behalf of the application. He stated that the company has a desire to be a hospitable neighbor in the community and was available to answer questions. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members, Saville made a motion to approve, which was seconded by Harris. The motion passed by a vote of 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts M Andrew Saville Frank Brown S Jonathan Harris Y Wendy Lignell 3 BOA24-11-01, for the property at 2 Mossy Oaks Ln. NE (0 Mossy Oaks Ln. as listed on the Parcel Viewer), Rome, GA 30165, Floyd County Tax Parcel J11W334, being zoned Suburban Residential (S-R), requests to construct an accessory building/structure closer to the public right-of-way than the principal structure. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Michael Davis was present to speak in favor of the application and to answer any questions. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members. Harris made a motion to approve on the condition that the 6-foot fence stays at least five feet from the front property line along Majestic Oaks Way and not come closer to Mossy Oaks Lane than the home and that the proposed shed can be located closer to Majestic Oaks Way as long as it remains behind the proposed fence, but cannot be located closer to Mossy Oaks Lae, which is the actual front of the house, which was seconded by Saville. The motion passed by a vote of 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts S Andrew Saville Frank Brown M Jonathan Harris Y Wendy Lignell BOA24-11-02, for the property at 10 General Ave., Rome, GA 30165, Floyd County Tax Parcel H12Z698, being zoned Suburban Residential (S-R, requests to remove the requirement for curb and gutter, and to remove the requirement for sidewalks along General Ave. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Bill Jones was present to speak in favor of the application. He spoke about the extra steps that would be necessary and additional costs that may make the project unaffordable if they need to add curb and gutter and sidewalks. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among the members. Saville made a motion to approve the request to remove the requirement for curb and gutter and for sidewalks along General Ave., which was seconded by Harris. The motion passed by a vote of 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts M Andrew Saville Frank Brown S Jonathan Harris Y Wendy Lignell 4 BOA24-11-05, for the property at 875 B Donahoo Rd., 0 Donahoo Rd., and 875 A Donahoo Rd., Silver Creek, GA 30173, Floyd County Tax Parcels J17Z284, J17Z285 and J17Z286, being zoned Agricultural Residential (A-R), requests to create three parcels with zero road frontage per provided plat. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Nancy Compton was present to speak in favor of the application and to answer questions. Dawn Stephens was present to ask questions in reference to the easement and who could access. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among members. Lignell made a motion to approve the request, which was seconded by Saville. The motion passed by a vote of 4-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts S Andrew Saville Frank Brown Y Jonathan Harris M Wendy Lignell BOA24-09-02, for the property at 98 Darlington Dr SW (5 Old Furnace Rd. as listed on the Parcel Viewer), Rome, GA 30161, Floyd County Tax Parcel J15X022, being zoned Light Industrial (L-I), requests to remove the requirement for curb and gutter, to remove the requirement for sidewalks and to remove the requirement for parking. Director Wood presented the staff report, application, and staff recommendation. Chair Clonts opened the public hearing. Andrew Saville was present to speak in favor of the application and to explain the reasons for his request. No one was present to speak in opposition. Chair Clonts closed the public hearing and opened discussion among members. Lignell made a motion to approve on the condition that the applicant plant (36) trees across the property frontage along Darlington Drive, which was seconded by Harris. The motion passed by a vote of 3-0. MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER M - Motion S – AB – Abstained Second Cameron Abney Y David Clonts Andrew Saville Frank Brown S Jonathan Harris M Wendy Lignell 5 ADJOURNMENT: Clonts made a motion to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 pm by common consent. STAFF REPORTS: https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3596/BOA24-09-02---Darlington-Dr-SW- City- https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3595/BOA24-11-05---Donahoo-Rd- County- https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3594/BOA24-11-02---General-Ave-City- https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3593/BOA24-11-01---Mossy-Oaks-Ln- County- https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3592/BOA24-09-06---Shorter-Ave-City- https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3591/BOA24-09-03---Eden-Valley-Rd- County https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3590/BOA24-09-01---Burnett-Ferry-Rd- County https://www.romega.us/DocumentCenter/View/3589/BOA24-09-05---Riverside-Pkwy- City- 6