License and Variance Board Meeting — Minutes
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March 11, 2026 10:00 AM City of Smyrna License and Variance Board Meeting 2800 King Street SE Council Chambers Page 5 of 7 The applicant is requesting a variance to allow the six-foot wooden privacy fence to remain closer to McCauley Road to provide safety and security for her and her family. Community Development believes the variance requested is the minimum variance needed and that, at times, a four-foot fence may not provide adequate privacy on a corner lot. The same variance request has been approved across the street at 1047 Pinehurst Drive in 2022 (V22-002) so there is a precedence for this type of variance in the immediate area. 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 four-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. Community Development has reviewed the request against the variance review standards and found it to be in compliance with four (4) of the four (4) standards. 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. 2. If any part of the fence falls within the City’s Right-of-Way and the City must work within the area, the fence may be required to be moved at the owner’s expense. Billy Rothery, applicant, understands and agrees to the stipulations read into record. A public hearing was called, and no one came forward in favor of or in opposition to this item. Board Member Andrea Worthy made a motion to approve item V26-018; seconded by Board Member Richard Garland. The motion to approve carried with the following vote: Aye: 3 – Chairperson Jones, Vice Chair Garland, Board Member Worthy Nay: 0 – None Recuse: 0 – None G. V26-020 Public Hearing - Variance Request - V26-020 - Reduce the rear setback from 30 feet to 14 feet - Land Lot 487 - 1072 Stephens Street - Jordan Sturgis Ward 3 Councilmember - Travis Lindley Caitlin Crowe, Land Development Services Coordinator, provided the following background for items V26-020 and V26-021: The subject parcel is a 0.15-acre lot located on the southeastern corner of the intersection of Stephens Street and Mann Street. The subject parcel and adjacent parcels to the north and east are zoned RDA whereas the adjacent parcels to the south and west are zoned R-15; all are occupied by single-family detached homes.