Yeah.

We'll call to order the May 27th meeting meeting for the Merit of Board of Zoning Appeals.

This is the public session.

A few housekeeping items.

Those of you, those of you who are here to present your ordinance or your your present for the board to approve your variance.

I cannot speak today, forgive me.

You have a total of 20 minutes to make your case to the board for approval.

You can reserve any of that time for rebuttal.

Those of you who are here in uh who are not in favor of a variance and would like to request denial.

Please first you must sign in if you want to speak to that.

And then secondly, um you have a total of collective total of 20 minutes to make your presentation to the board for denial.

And you can uh uh if there is some rebuttal from the person trying to get a variance, you can still come back and speak.

Lastly, please remember to turn your phones off or turn them back on when you leave the building.

Thank you very much.

It's the paper down there.

Good.

Okay.

Uh I think we have to vote.

Uh first vote is on the minutes from last month's meeting.

I don't believe there were any changes, correctly?

Okay.

Do I hear a motion to approve those meeting minutes?

I move to approve.

Second.

Okay, motion has been made and seconded.

We approve the meeting to the minutes from last month's meeting.

All those in favor.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

I didn't hear you won't.

Sorry.

Okay.

First case closing.

Or I'm sorry, Daniel.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

So for case V two oh two six-13.

Cassandra Mathis on behalf of James Presley is requesting variances related to 651 Ottawa Drive to retain a non-conforming structure and to reduce the required setback from 10 feet down to 4.8 feet.

Okay.

Who's here to present this variance to the board?

Please step forward at the podium, ma'am.

State your name there.

My name is Kimberly Woods.

I am Cassandra Mathis better half.

How's that?

Partner in crime, I guess.

Yes, we're just asking the our client is just trying to redo the house.

And they can't remodel it because it's the extent of the damage in the water in the house is just going to cost an over exuberant amount of money.

And so they need to just go ahead and demolish the house and build a new one.

But they would love to keep the structure for the garage because there's no damage in the garage.

The garage is just fine.

So they were just asking, because I know it's an R3 zoning at this point, and they want a 10-foot setback.

Well, this house has been there since 1985.

And nobody's complaining.

The house, if you look at some of the pictures, you can see where the houses next to it.

You can actually see next to it where it's been there forever, and nobody's had any problems with it.

And the neighbors don't have a problem with it, because we're not changing anything in the garage.

Right.

No, no work.

Exactly the same.

I got you.

I got you.

The only thing we need to do is ask if we can keep it.

Okay.

I got you.

So that's pretty much it.

I didn't need 20 minutes, but there you go.

That's fine.

Thank you very much.

Any questions?

Any questions for Ms.

Woods?

Thank you very much, ma'am.

Thank you.

Is anyone here in opposition to this variance?

Please step forward, state your name.

Seeing there's no one here in opposition.

Do I hear a motion or some discussion on this variance?

Mr.

Chairman, I would like to make a motion that the uh the two variances be approved with a criteria that granting the application will not be detrimental or injurious to property or improvements in the vicinity of the development site or to the public health, safety and general welfare.

Do I hear a second?

Second.

Motion has been made and seconded that we approve this variance with no conditions.

All those in favor.

Okay.

You have your variance, ma'am.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Thank you guys all for you too.

Next case.

Thank you once again, Mr.

Chairman.

For case V2026-14, David Sinclair on behalf of Scott Mills is requesting a variance for 538 Haywood Circle.

Hey, word circle, rather, to allow gravel as an acceptable parking surface.

Who's here to present this variance?

Please step forward and state your name.

Good evening, I'm Scott Mills.

I'm the owner.

We completely remodeled Hayward Circle, which was a permitted job.

And in the mean, as part of that, we took out an impervious asphalt driveway, which had been present for at least 20 years and had to go.

It was almost non-navigable.

And in its place, we wanted something that was not impervious.

So we put down a permeable crunch rock drive.

It's not gravel, it actually has other uh stones in it.

It's a mixture of white, gray, red, um, and a little bit of brown.

Um when my dad shared this board, his big thing was those 18-foot aprons to keep the gravel out of the road.

Um so we put those in and we have a rebar reinforced edging on both sides of the drive can to contain the crunch there as well.

Okay, thank you very much.

Did uh you put the driveway in during construction?

During construction.

So you had permitted for the construction, but not for the driveway.

Correct.

And when you when you did, did you already know that that it was not approved for the uh we no, we did not know that.

The driveway was down, and when the inspector came for the final CO, he said this has to have a variance.

Right, but the builder didn't know?

No, sir.

Is the builder here with you?

Um he is on his way.

Okay.

He should have known city rules.

He shouldn't know.

Somebody should have known.

Walt, Mr.

Hunter, you got anything?

Any questions for Mr.

Mills?

I do not.

Anybody else have any questions for Mr.

Mills?

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

Is anyone here in opposition to this variance?

Please step forward, state your name.

Seeing there's no one here in opposition to this variance.

Do I hear any discussion or motion?

I have a motion.

I have a motion that we turn the application down on the basis that granting the application is not necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a suitcase.

You don't have to have a yeah, you don't have to have a criteria.

If you want to, you know, if you want if you were doing you would state it, but you don't have to have criteria if you're recommending denial.

I move that we deny the application.

Okay.

Motion has been made to deny.

Do I hear a second?

Second.

Motion has been made and seconded.

That I got I got a discussion.

Just want to put it out there that um as as I said in the previous meeting.

Um, you know, unfortunately, this may or may not fall on the mills.

Um, but the the builder um I I think this shouldn't blame should fall some on the builder for not checking before.

And you know though, and the city council is pretty strict against uh any any type of uh non-hardened surface for parking.

Well, it's not the first time, and it won't be the last time we've had it come up, and we've had a lot of discussion around who's to blame.

That's why I asked the question about whether it was the homeowner's decision or the builders, and whether they're building fences and not knowing regulations or tearing down trees.

We've had a lot of that.

And City Council has come back to us multiple times asking us not to approve our uh go against regulations.

So I have an issue with that.

I don't blame the homeowner, but I definitely didn't blame the builder, and I guess that's something they'll have to take up if we deny it.

So I mean you're not a comment if you are a neighborhood.

Well, did you sign up to speak, sir?

You want you want to speak in uh not in opposition for it?

Okay.

So we have a motion.

We changed it to a discussion.

We can reset the motion.

Come on up, sir.

State your name, please.

My name is uh John Crowley.

I live at 534 Hayward Circle, right to the right or to the uh north and west of the property adjacent property.

I've live there since uh 199.

And uh the uh the mills have done nothing but add value to this community and enhance the value for the over 60 uh residents that are in what's formerly called Oakdon.

It's just off of uh North St.

Mary's and Hayward Circle.

Uh they took this home that had been uh falling into a disrepair and modernized it.

And the uh surface that we're talking about does nothing but enhance the value, if nothing better, it takes care of the water runoff being a permeable surface with aggregate that rolls down to that part of the uh creek that flows off the mountain and uh eventually into Nick Ajack Creek.

So I think that's something you need to look at.

Now I know there's levels of responsibility.

I'm a retired marine.

I certainly understand the levels of responsibility in when you delegate to someone, and uh the folks should probably need to hold accountable is a project manager, in this case a contractor.

And uh you probably need to hammer him a little bit.

However, the mills have done nothing but in their diligent effort over the period of uh nine months in enhancing this property that was uh formerly owned by the Agras family, and as they uh aged out, if you will, the mills have made this uh a thousand percent better, especially the dilapidated asphalt where the water did run off, flood the creek, and add to erosion factor.

I've noticed the difference already.

And I like I said, I've lived there and watched this since 1999.

And I stand by for your questions if you have any questions.

And I've heard of no buzz in the neighborhood at all, that uh it's uh doesn't look well, it hasn't done done nothing but add value to our community, and we're very proud of what the mills have done for this property.

So I ask that you take that into consideration.

Thank you, Mr.

Froley.

Do we have any questions for?

Thank you, sir.

Appreciate it.

I don't have a question, but I have a comment.

Okay.

Well, well, hold on one second, please.

Let me I will close it to any other discussion out on the public side, unless somebody else has something to say.

Okay.

Thank you.

Now, any discussion?

So in the um discussion group before the primary meeting, I brought up a point that this is a recurring issue that we have faced.

And I would urge that uh that the city take a second look at it.

Um the code is the code, you know, regulation is the regulation.

Um although I'm sympathetic to Dr.

Mills and his family and what they've done.

Um the builder in this case uh the chairman has pointed out, should have had some knowledge of what they were doing.

It's very unfortunate.

Yeah, I mean, we've had it happen before, and and Mr.

Foley mentioned, you know, taking it out on the contractor, but that's something we can't do.

We have no control over that.

It's a contract between the homeowner and the contractor.

So you know, there does need to be responsibility there.

Um, you know, uh we've had this happen time and time again, and they're urging us to be uh take more responsibility out of the city's hands.

So any other discussion.

Okay.

Seeing there's no more discussion, do I hear a motion?

We already made it.

Well motion was not remake the motion.

Can we okay?

Motion has been made for denial.

Do I hear a second?

Second.

Motion has been made and seconded.

All those in favor?

Opposed?

Okay.

All right, sir.

Um your motion has been denied.

You do have uh, I mean, you can you can submit it to the city council.

See if you have any better luck there.

And I, you know, I I urge you to talk to your contractor.

Point of clarification, uh, Mr.

Chairman, actually, appeals now go to the superior court, not to say, Oh, that's right.

I they I forgot to change.

I've been corrected, I stand corrected.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right.

Felt like my wife just told me I was wrong.

Leave the kids alone.

Daniel's the last case, what we got.

Sounds like a good woman.

Yeah, that's a recurrent issue too.

For case V2026-15, Kristen and Nicholas Bayer are requesting variances for 303 Kennesaw Avenue to increase the allowable fence height for the columns by one feet on the front and major side yard.

Okay, who's here to present this variance?

Please step forward, state your name.

Hello, I'm Nick Baer, um uh home homeowner.

Um, and we are looking to um you know enclose the the property for uh safety, both for our animals and uh daughter, and um we were trying to come up with something, a design that would be proportional to the house, uh robust and historically consistent with houses of that age and style.

Um doing so, you know, we we thought that it would given the very large scale of the house that having columns that were able to exceed uh the general fence height would look more visually appropriate and scale more properly to the home's size.

Let me ask a question real quick.

The picture on my left, your right here.

That that would run the front and all the way to the side until you got to the driveway back there, and then it'd be solid.

Is that how I yes?

So the the demarcation would happen around there's a portico that sticks out, and so the the solid fence would meet into the portico, and so the walls would would meet, um, so there would be a clean transition and then the opening.

On the front and for the side visual coming down Kennesaw, it would be that open fence.

Yes, sir.

Okay.

All right.

Both shorter and open.

Okay.

Mr.

Hunter, you any questions?

Um you originally asked it for a five foot, right?

Across the front.

I believe the the fence, the the posts.

So again, it's a it's a question of the post rather than the the body of the fence itself.

So the the code requires that the entire fence be um under the uh four or six foot, uh, depending on location, and so we're just looking for a variance to have the posts exceed that.

I see not the body of the fence itself.

Right.

Mr.

Bayer, are you aware that one of the neighbors was against the variants?

Um I've heard some Okay.

They may be here today to, and I'll give them a chance to speak their piece.

I didn't know if you were aware.

Okay.

All right.

Any other questions for Mr.

Bayer?

So I noticed that the one of the architectural examples that you chose was 94 Rutledge, which I recognize as a home in Charleston.

Yes, sir.

With the historical gate.

That's a good choice.

Who who did that?

Uh that was my wife Kristen.

Yeah.

Billy.

Yes.

Yeah, we we love Charleston, and we were looking for, like I said, historical inspiration.

There aren't that many stucco group revivals in this area, so we were trying to find where contemporary ones that have extant fences that we might be able to get inspiration from.

Good choice.

Thank you.

There's a famous gate maker in Charleston.

I forgot his name.

You're not getting it from there, are you?

Never mind.

All right.

Any other questions from Mr.

Bear?

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Is anyone here in opposition to this variance?

Please step forward, state your name.

Okay.

Seeing there's no one here in opposition.

We'll close the public session.

Do I hear any discussion or do I hear a motion?

Well, in lieu of no discussion, I'm going to make a motion, Mr.

Chairman, that uh we approve the variances with the recommendations listed uh here.

Um the three recommendations and the recommendations are part of the uh uh approval of this.

Do I hear a second?

Granting the application will not be detrimental or injurious to property improvements in the vicinity of the development site or to the public health safety and general welfare.

I second okay, motion has been made second that we approve with the stipulations that the height increase applies only to the masonry columns.

Field verification for the corner site distance and is conducted by engineering to prior uh vertical construction, and lastly, full compliance with Knox Box and emergency access access requirements for the installed gates.

All those in favor.

Okay.

Thank you.

You have your variance, sir.

Good luck.

Okay.

Any other business before the board?

Sir.

Seeing there is no more business.

Do I hear a recommendation for adjournment or motion for adjournment?

So move.

Second.

Motion been made and seconded that we adjourn.

All those in favor, please show by standing up going home.