License and Variance Board Meeting - A. MAX BACON CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Minutes
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March 26, 2025 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 7 of 11 application, the applicant has submitted for a combination plat to combine the subject property and neighboring property to the west, 941 Reed Road. Once recorded, the subject parcel will be 0.84 acres. The subject parcel and adjacent parcel to the south are zoned R-15; one parcel to the south is occupied by a detached single-family home while one parcel is unused City right-of-way. The adjacent parcel to the west is also zoned R-15 and is currently vacant. The adjacent parcels to the north are zoned RDA and are occupied by detached single-family homes, all of which are in the Woodland Pass subdivision. The parcel to the east, zoned RDA, functions as the Woodland Pass subdivision’s open space. The subject parcel was originally platted in 1959 and subsequently revised in 2001, prior to the Smyrna Stream Buffer Ordinance, which was implemented in 2005. In November 2024, a 198 square foot accessory structure was constructed straddling the property lines of both 951 and 941 Reed Road without obtaining the proper variance; due to the size being under 200 square feet, a building permit is not required. Code Enforcement subsequently issued a notice of violation to the subject property for stream buffer encroachment, at which time the applicant immediately began working with staff on the combination plat and variance application. Since the applicant/property owner owns both lots (941 and 951 Reed Road), the structure was allowed to remain prior to the combination plat. The subject property is greatly impacted by the State’s 25-foot stream buffer, City’s 50- foot undisturbed buffer, and the City’s 75-foot impervious surface setback due to a creek that runs through the middle of 941 Reed Road and leads to a large detention pond in the front yard. In order to retain the accessory structure, the applicant will disturb the City’s 75-foot impervious surface area setback by 95 square feet. The applicant will mitigate the disturbance by extending the 75-foot impervious surface setback by 140 square feet. The new impervious area will be contiguous with the existing stream buffer and will require an update to and recording of the parcel plat to delineate the new impervious setback limits. (Note that in February 2025, the applicant submitted the combination plat to include the proposed mitigation for the shed encroachment, which has been approved and is waiting to be recorded at the Cobb County Superior Court.) The Engineering Department has reviewed the application and accompanying mitigation plan and supports the method used for buffer mitigation per the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual requirements Once the parcels are combined, no other variances will be needed, as the site is below their maximum impervious square footage and the accessory structure will be outside the setbacks. In fact, the combination plat will also bring the existing house into conformance with current code, as the side of the home is currently encroaching into the side setback; with the lots being combined, the side setback will be moved to follow the new edge of the western property line. Community Development believes the hardship is not self-created, as the lot of record has existed before the stream buffer ordinance was adopted. Community Development believes this is the minimum variance needed to allow for any outdoor amenity due to the buffers, and that there should be no negative impacts to adjacent properties if approved. Similar variances have been approved throughout the city when an appropriate mitigation method has been included. At the time of this request, Community Development has not received any calls in opposition to the request. According to Section 46-160 of the Stream Buffer Protection Ordinance, stream buffer variances must be reviewed under the following standards: (1) The shape, size, topography, slope, soils, vegetation and other physical characteristics of the property; (2) The locations of all streams on the property, including along property boundaries; (3) The