License and Variance Board Meeting - Council Chambers — Minutes
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June 24, 2026 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 17 of 18 The subject property previously had a 4-foot wooden picket fence around the rear perimeter of the property. The applicant is proposing to remove the existing wooden fence and erect a 6-foot wooden fence closer to the property line along Kenway Circle to provide a larger, private backyard space. Due to the property having road frontage on two sides, both sides are considered a front yard regarding fencing. Section 503-A restricts the height of fences within a front yard to four feet; strict application of the ordinance would require a fence greater than four feet in height be setback 25 feet from the property line on the Kenway Circle side. Thus, the applicant is requesting a variance to allow the 6-foot wooden privacy fence within the front yard to provide safety and security from the busy road and intersection. Additionally, the City Engineer has determined that there is no site distance issue caused by the fence. The applicant is requesting a variance to allow a 6-foot wooden privacy fence closer than 25 feet to Kenway Circle to provide safety and security for his family. Community Development believes the variance requested is the minimum variance needed and that, at times, a 4-foot fence may not provide adequate privacy on a corner lot. At the time of this report, Community Development has not received any calls in opposition to this request. The applicant is requesting to deviate from the development standards established by Section 503-A, which requires a 4-foot fence in the front yard. 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 above, Community Development believes that the encroachment will not adversely affect surrounding residents; therefore, staff recommends approval of the requested variance with the following conditions: 1. Approval of the requested variance shall be conditioned upon substantial compliance with the site plan submitted with the variance application. Ryals Dent, applicant, stated he understands and agrees to the stipulation read into record. A public hearing was called, and no one came forward in favor of or in opposition to this item. The public hearing was closed. Board Member Dustin Davey made a motion to approve item V26-067; seconded by Board Member Andrea Worthy. The motion to approve carried with the following vote: Aye: 3 – Chairperson Garland, Board Member Worthy, Board Member Davey Nay: 0 – None Recuse: 0 – None 5. Approval of Minutes A. MIN2026-127 Approval of the June 10, 2026 License and Variance Board Meeting Minutes