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Board of Zoning Appeals OKs front‑setback fence variance for 16 Tulane Road
Summary
The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance to allow a 6‑foot fence at 16 Tulane Road to sit within the front setback after finding the property’s unusual geometry created exceptional circumstances.
The Athens Board of Zoning Appeals on April 8 granted a variance allowing a six‑foot privacy fence to be placed inside the front setback at 16 Tulane Road, approving a zero‑foot setback where the zoning code requires 10 feet.
The variance was requested to permit a fence in the front setback (ACC 23.03.14) and to waive the 10‑foot setback required by ACC 23.10.01 (Table A, bulk control). The board approved the request by majority voice vote; the motion passed and the variance was granted.
Zoning Administrator David Riggs explained staff’s interpretation of the lot’s frontage and setback lines, saying the parcel’s irregular “flag” geometry and an odd corner configuration made the front setback line ambiguous. Riggs presented a sketch showing the lot shape and said staff had treated the orange line on the site plan as the front building line and measured setbacks from that line.
Appellant John Bridal (property owner, 16 Tulane Road) told the board he sought a six‑foot vinyl fence to provide privacy, protect a garden from deer and create an outdoor area he can use. Bridal said the lot is unusually shaped and that an existing gulch and roughly 10 feet of city property between his lot and the street accomplish the intent of a setback.
Neighbors who spoke opposed the full zero‑foot setback. Doug Everett (14 Tulane Road) said Bridal had been a good neighbor and offered supportive comments, but Alan Goldsberry (neighbor) and Carolyn Gosnell (22 Lane) raised objections. Goldsberry said heavy equipment used to remove a tree had damaged his property and that Bridal did not notify neighbors before work; he argued that a full fence to the corner would impair the path neighbors use to mow and maintain the drainage ditch. Gosnell said a six‑foot privacy fence at the proposed location would block the green‑space view from her home and be out of character because similar vinyl privacy fences in the area are typically used for backyards.
Board members discussed the standard variance questions read into the record at the start of the hearing (authority and findings based on the Athens City Code) and repeatedly noted the lot’s “exceptional” geometry and flag‑lot history. Members debated whether the requested relief was the minimum variance necessary, with several suggesting a smaller setback (three to five feet) might address neighbors’ access concerns while still providing privacy for the owner. Zoning staff confirmed the board could describe a setback measured from the corner point rather than the entire frontage line if the board wished to craft a narrower variance.
After deliberation the board voted to grant the requested variances as presented (motion language requested a 0‑foot setback where 10 feet is required). The board recorded approval; the applicant’s photos were entered into the record per staff direction.
The board’s written decision will be mailed to the applicant and the 30‑day appeal period to Athens County Court of Common Pleas begins with that mailing per the code provisions read at the hearing.
