The Alpharetta Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 21 approved variances for Colonial Pipeline’s headquarters at 1000 Lake Street to reduce fence setbacks adjacent to the Alpha Loop multiuse trail and to increase fence height from 5 feet to 6 feet, subject to four staff conditions including a flat‑top decorative fence and a planting plan.
Planning staff presented the request as a limited encroachment: approximately 87 linear feet of fence would sit closer than the 10‑foot setback in three short locations while roughly 615 linear feet of fence would run adjacent to the Alpha Loop. Staff recommended approval in part because Colonial identified perimeter security needs after a security assessment and the company is designated a critical infrastructure entity by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Jordan Edwards of Galloway Law Group, agent for Colonial Pipeline, said the encroachments are driven by existing site elements — retaining walls, sidewalks and a refuse‑screening wall — that were built when the site was completed in 2021 and that limit where a secure fence can be placed. Edwards said Colonial is minimizing the variance request, seeking only a 6‑foot fence (one foot taller than the 5‑foot limit adjacent to the trail and below the 8‑foot maximum for commercial properties without an adjacent multiuse trail).
Edwards and Lou Krause, senior counsel for Colonial, told the board the perimeter fence and gates address recommendations in the company’s security assessment; Krause said Colonial’s security team had reviewed and accepted the proposed fence style with staff’s flat‑top modification. Staff also recommended, and the board adopted, a condition that driveway gates providing vehicular access to Lake Street "shall remain open on weekdays that are business days between the hours of 05:30 a.m. and 06:30 p.m.," with exceptions for holidays, enhanced security conditions or emergencies to prevent traffic stacking on Lake Street.
A motion to approve the variances with the four staff conditions passed on a board vote. Conditions require fencing and setbacks substantially as shown on the approved site plan (Exhibit A), a flat‑top decorative black‑metal fence (no spikes), maintenance of fencing and replacement of transplanted landscaping as needed (Exhibit B), and the weekday gate‑open hours described above. The applicant indicated it will relocate or add landscaping in short setback areas to soften the fence’s appearance.