License and Variance Board Meeting — Minutes
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March 25, 2026 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 5 of 8 The applicant is requesting several variances to build a new single-family home at 2582 Argo Drive. The applicant received approval from Mayor and Council in June 2006 for several variances: reduce the front setback from 35 feet to 11.3 feet, reduce the side setbacks from 10 feet to 7.2 feet, and reduce the rear setback from 30 feet to 18.9 feet (Variance Cases V06-023 through 025). The applicant is requesting to further encroach into the front and rear setback and thus amend the previously approved variances. Since the variances approved in 2006 were not acted upon within one year and the currently proposed side setback meets current codes, the side setback remains at 10 feet. Section 801 establishes the building setbacks for properties in the R-15 zoning district. After the aforementioned variances were approved in 2006, Section 1208 was enacted in April 2007, which requires a variance to build on a lot of record below minimum requirements. Thus, the applicant is also requesting an additional variance from Section 1208. The subject parcel is a 0.1-acre lot located on the south side of Argo Drive. The subject parcel and all adjacent parcels are zoned R-15. The adjacent properties to the west and east are occupied by detached single-family homes. The subject property, the parcel to the south, and the parcels to the north are all currently vacant lots (2581 Argo Drive has been demolished since photographs were taken). The subject parcel was created around 2002 via deed of sale in Cobb County; no recorded plat of record could be located. The previous home on the property had substantial fire damage and was demolished sometime between 2006 and 2009; the lot has been vacant since. The applicant is proposing to construct a new roughly 2,400 square foot two-story single-family home on the vacant lot, which will include four bedrooms and 2 ½ bathrooms. The home’s architecture will be modern with a mixture of hardiplank siding and panels. The subject property is only 4,580 square feet while the R-15 zoning district requires a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet. Since the subject property is an existing lot of record, the hardship is not self-created. Additionally, due to the property being well below the required lot area, the setback requirements create an unfeasible buildable area. Due to the constraints of the site, the applicant is requesting to reduce the front and rear setbacks to build the new home. The proposed home is shifted to the east of the lot minimize the number and scale of the variances needed: the previously requested side setback variances have been eliminated and the driveway has been extended to meet typical 22-foot length requirements. The front of the proposed home will be 10 feet from Argo Drive, which is in line with the nonconforming house to the east (which was built in 1947). Due to the geometry of the lot, which is only 76 feet in length, the applicant is also requesting a rear setback reduction to 10 feet to accommodate the square footage needed to meet the minimum house size of 2,000 square feet. The subject property is unique in that it has less than 30% land area than what the R-15 zoning district requires; the hardship is not self-created as the property is an existing lot of record. The setback variances requested are the minimum variances needed to build a new single-family home on the subject property in line with the surrounding neighborhood, which has seen increased growth and development over the past few years. At the time of this report, Community Development has not received any calls in opposition to the request.