License and Variance Board Meeting - A. MAX BACON CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Minutes
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February 26, 2025 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 4 of 11 Board Member Andrea Worthy made a motion to approve for submission to Mayor and Council item V25-017; seconded by Board Member Bo Jones. The motion to approve carried with the following vote: Aye: 3 – Chairperson Garland, Board Member Jones, Board Member Worthy Nay: 0 – None Recuse: 0 – None G. V25-018 Public Hearing - Variance Request - V25-018 - Reduce the side setback from 10 feet to 6.9 feet - Land Lot 556 - 3435 Lee Street - Caitlin Walker Ward 6 Mayor Pro Tem / Councilmember - Tim Gould Caitlin Crowe, Planner I, provided the following background: The subject parcel is a 0.57-acre lot located at the northeast intersection of Lee Street, Daniell Drive, and Forest Drive (see Figure 1). The subject parcel and adjoining parcels to the north and west are zoned R-15 whereas the adjacent parcels to the south and east are zoned R-20; all are occupied by detached single-family homes. The subject property is currently occupied by a 2,606 square foot two-story house and 384 square foot shed in the rear of the property. The former garage was enclosed in 2017 prior to the current homeowner’s purchase of the home so the home does not currently have any covered parking on the property. The applicant is requesting a variance to encroach into the side setback to build a 700 square foot two-car garage addition on the north side of the existing home, connected via 6-foot breezeway to the existing home. The garage will have a mixture of hardy plank and board and batton façade to match the existing home’s aesthetic. To access the new garage, a new concrete driveway will be cut into Lee Street. No other variances are required for the renovations, as all other setbacks are met, and the property will be under the maximum impervious surface area of 35%. The subject property has a flat front yard leading to the two-story home, which then slopes in the rear. Due to the property contours, the two-story house sits on a walk-out basement with the utilities on the basement level. Due to the utilities, the applicant is proposing the 6-foot breezeway to cross over the area and connect to the new two-car garage. The breezeway will then also act as a mudroom to enter the house in inclement weather. Community Development does not foresee any negative impacts to adjacent properties should the variance be approved. Similar variances have been approved across the street at 3463 Lee Street in 2021 (Variance Case V17-074) and at 1445 Collier Drive in 2019 (Variance Case V19-009) so there is a precedence for this type of variance in the area. At the time of this report, Community Development has not received any calls in opposition to the request. The applicant is requesting to deviate from the development standards established by Section 801, which requires a minimum side setback of 10 feet. According to Section 1403 of the Zoning Ordinance, variances must be reviewed under the following standards: (1) Whether there are unique and special or extraordinary circumstances applying to the property; (2) Whether any alleged hardship is self-created by any person having an interest in the property; (3) Whether strict application of the relevant provisions of the code would deprive the applicant of reasonable use of the property; and (4) Whether the variance proposed is the minimum variance needed. After a review of the standards