City of Johns Creek Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - March 17, 2026
City of Johns Creek Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - March 17, 2026
The Johns Creek Board of Zoning Appeals held a public hearing and deliberation on three variance cases on March 17, 2026. The meeting began with the approval of minutes from the previous meeting and included staff presentations, applicant testimony, and public comments. The board voted on all three cases, approving each with modifications to staff recommendations.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the November 2025 meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- V-2601 (Shopping Center Landscape Strip Variance): Multiple residents spoke in opposition or with concerns. Kevin John (Brookmere townhome resident) expressed concerns about noise from traffic and delivery trucks, dumpster proximity to homes, and the scale of the 40,000 sq ft building. David Cook (6612 Marlowe Glenn Way) suggested an underground detention pond and a roof over the dumpster enclosure, and requested community consultation on landscaping. A second David Cook (7805 Laurel Crest Drive) raised traffic safety concerns about the lack of a traffic light at the McGuinness Ferry Road entrance. Logan Bailey Perkins (7958 Laurel Crest Drive) asked for more detail on the replanting plan and noted the developer did not reach out to the HOA before the application.
- V-2602 (Stream Buffer Variance for Deck): No public opposition was voiced.
- V-2603 (Rear Yard Setback Variance for Sunroom): The applicant, Farah Dharamshi, spoke in support of the variance and requested removal of a staff condition requiring evergreen trees along the rear property line, arguing it would block the golf course view.
Discussion Items
- V-2601 (40 ft Landscape Strip Reduction to 20 ft): Staff presented the request in the context of the property's constrained shape. The applicant (Matthew Lee, Timberton Properties) emphasized their track record of quality development and offered to provide 11,000 sq ft of community gathering space. Board members discussed the difference between a landscape strip and a buffer, and staff clarified that a buffer requires evergreen trees. The board proposed changing the landscape strip along the south and east property lines to a buffer standard. The applicant agreed to consider the cost but noted it was early in the project.
- V-2602 (Stream Buffer Encroachment for Deck): Staff explained the 14.6 ft encroachment into the 75 ft stream buffer, with a net increase of 166 sq ft of impervious surface. The contractor confirmed the deck would not get closer to the stream and that a silt fence would be installed. No board questions raised concerns.
- V-2603 (35 ft Rear Yard Setback Encroachment for Sunroom): Staff noted the 25 ft encroachment. The applicant argued that the lot's unique layout and proximity to a golf course made the patio unusable, and that neighbors and the HOA supported the project. The board agreed to remove the requirement for planting along the rear property line, keeping it only on the eastern side, to preserve the golf course view.
Key Outcomes
- V-2601 (Case 1): Motion to approve with staff recommendations and an amendment to condition 3C: the 10 ft landscape strip along the south and east property lines adjacent to Brookmere subdivision shall be planted to buffer standards in compliance with the city's tree preservation ordinance. Approved unanimously by voice vote.
- V-2602 (Case 2): Motion to approve as recommended by staff. Approved unanimously by voice vote.
- V-2603 (Case 3): Motion to approve with staff recommendations and an amendment to condition 3: remove the requirement for evergreen trees along the rear property line, requiring them only along the eastern side between the sunroom and the east property line. Approved unanimously by voice vote.
The board also noted that the next meeting is scheduled for April 21, 2026, and that elections for chair and vice chair will be held at that time.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the City of Johns Creek Board of Zoning upbeats meeting for March. The meeting will now come to order. Mr. Green is not here. And uh warm welcome to our newest member, Miss Jean Marie Wineman. Um welcome. Uh it's an exciting board. Um excited to have you here. Um I would also like to thank uh the mayor and the city council for reappointing me and Mr. Talipoli for another um term. Um thanks and appreciate the trust. So we have our agenda for the current meeting and the minutes from our meeting in Nowember. If um all the members have had a chance to review, uh are there any changes or any motions on the um meeting in the minutes. I'll make a motion that we accept the minutes as uh delivered to us, sir. Uh Mr. Stan has made a motion to accept. Um any seconds? I second. Mr. Talapoli is seconded the motion. All members who voted in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Anyone in opposition? The motion carries. Uh for the public hearing tonight, we have three cases. Um the staff will present the case. Uh after the staff presentation, the applicant will have ten minutes uh to present their case. Any opposition will have a total of ten minutes. Uh if the applicant does not use their full ten minutes, the remainder can be served for a result for rebuttal. Anyone that wishes to speak should step up to the podium and be sure to state your name and address for the record. All questions for staff, applicant and the opposition will be after uh the public hearing is closed. We'll have Taylor. This is to accommodate the construction of a forty thousand square foot shopping center and the parking required to serve it. Variance review criteria. Relief, if granted, would be in harmony with or could be made in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance, or the application of the particular provision of the zoning ordinance to a particular piece of property due to extraordinary or exceptional conditions pertaining to that property because of its size, shape, or topography would create an unnecessary hardship for the owner while causing no detriment to the public. Following a staff analysis. Subject property has an elongated configuration and the front property line measures approximately 800 feet along the Guinness Ferry Road. The property has a depth of approximately 178 feet for 75% of the property before expanding to roughly 270 feet near Brookmere Place. Just going back to what that image looks like. The constrained shape of the property with limited depth and the required 40-foot landscape strip would prevent an unnecessary or would present an unnecessary hardship for the property owner. The direct reduction in landscape strip would mitigate the limited depth and enable a site to accommodate a commercial commercial building as well as the parking required. Uh that includes landscape areas, benches, and a walking trail connecting to the proposed shopping and inevitably to the adjacent residential neighborhood. Staff is of the opinion that the request, if granted, would be in harmony with the general purpose and intents of the zoning ordinance. If you see at the bottom, that is the proposed community gathering space located on page bottom left here. With that, staff recommends approval of V-2601 with the following conditions. The sites will be developed shall be developed in general accordance with the site plan received and stamped by the city on January 26th. The owner and developer shall provide a minimum of 11,000 square feet of community gathering space in accordance with the exhibit received on January 16, 2026. And the owner developers shall provide and replant where sparsely vegetated in the following landscape strips as shown on the site plan received on January 26th. Those landscape strips would be 20 feet along McGuinness Ferry Road, 20 feet along Brookmere Place, and 10 feet along the south and east property line adjacent to the Brookmere subdivision.
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