License and Variance Board Meeting - A. MAX BACON CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Minutes
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July 09, 2025 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 5 of 8 outside the scope of the permit and erected a roughly 60 square foot outdoor kitchen without obtaining the proper variance. Once notified of the violation, the applicant immediately submitted the variance application in June 2025. As part of the ongoing renovation of the house, the existing outdoor grill had to be moved to accommodate the new covered patio area. The existing lot is relatively narrow, and as a corner lot, the buildable area is further limited by required setbacks. The current home features a side entry garage, with the front elevation occupying the full width of the buildable area and the garage and driveway positioned centrally along the street-facing side. As a result, the available and logical space for any addition is significantly constrained. Thus, the outdoor kitchen was positioned in such a way that it is cohesive with the current floor plan but encroaches into the streetside setback by 5.3 feet, an additional 3.4 feet than the existing home. However, a six-foot privacy fence extends along the streetside property line (as approved via variance in 2016) along with mature shrubs that provide a buffer to Collier Drive, so impact to adjacent properties should be minimal. Community Development believes the variance proposed is the minimum variance needed to have an outdoor amenity. 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 the City for the R-20 zoning district, which requires a minimum streetside setback of 23.3 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 above, Community Development believes that the encroachment will not adversely affect surrounding residents; therefore, staff recommends approval of the requested variance with the following condition: 1. Approval of the requested variance shall be conditioned upon substantial compliance with the site plan and elevations submitted with the variance application. William Madden, applicant, came forward and stated he understands and agrees to the standard stipulation read into record. A public hearing was called, and no one came forward in favor od or in opposition to this item. Board Member Mary Moore made a motion to approve item V25-064; seconded by Board Member Bo Jones. The motion to approve carried with the following vote: Aye: 3 – Chairperson Worthy, Board Member Jones, Board Member Moore Nay: 0 – None Recuse: 0 – None