Alpharetta panel approves 2-foot side setback exception for detached garage at 1340 Squirrel Run

The Alpharetta planning body on an unspecified date approved an exception to the Unified Development Code to allow a detached one-car garage at 1340 Squirrel Run to sit 6 feet from the west property line instead of the 8-foot setback otherwise in effect for the Jennifer Oaks subdivision.

Michael Woodman, a City staff member, presented the item as "a request for an exception to reduce the side building setback from 8 feet to 6 feet to accommodate a detached garage." He told the board the property is in the Jennifer Oaks subdivision, is about 0.3 acres, is zoned R-15, and is developed with a two-story, roughly 3,100-square-foot single-family home. Woodman said the Unified Development Code requires a 10-foot side setback in R-15 but that the subdivision was allowed an 8-foot side setback for its lots.

The applicant, John Foley of 1340 Squirrel Run, told the board the proposed structure would be a single-car detached garage built on a poured slab with no basement or plumbing. Foley said the house's layout — including a side-loaded attached garage and interior kitchen and laundry room placement — prevents a practical attached-garage solution and that access from the house is typically through the attached garage overhead door. Foley said he has received approval from the neighborhood HOA to construct an Allen-block retaining wall where needed and that any engineered wall would be submitted for the city's review.

John Menching, president of the Jennifer Oaks Homeowners Association, said the HOA reviewed Foley's submission and "we have no objections." Woodman also said the applicant provided letters of no objection from adjacent property owners and the HOA.

Staff recommended approval subject to two conditions: 1) the detached garage must be located as depicted on the site plan labeled Exhibit A, and 2) the detached garage must be substantially similar to the rendering labeled Exhibit B and as approved by staff. A board member moved to approve "V2504 with the two conditions from the city," the motion was seconded, the chair called for the vote and after asking "All in favor? Any opposed?" announced, "It passes." The transcript does not record an exact vote tally.

The board's approval is an "exception," which staff explained differs from a variance because an exception can be granted when the request would not be substantially detrimental to the public good and is limited to specific code provisions (including minimum building setbacks). Staff reported they evaluated the applicable criteria and determined the request would not cause substantial detriment and that the applicant had demonstrated reasons supporting the exception.

The board discussion included questions about grade and whether the garage would contain habitable space; Foley said any upper storage would be accessed by a pull-down attic stair and that there would be no fixed stairs or plumbing. Board members also asked whether the setback decision would affect a separate application to replace a railroad-tie retaining wall; staff said the setback approval does not resolve property-line or wall disputes and that the retaining-wall work is a separate item that the applicant must coordinate and permit.

The approval allows the detached garage to begin at the end of the existing driveway, sit about 4 feet from the house wall and 6 feet from the west property line, use materials matching the existing home, and requires the applicant to submit any required engineering or structural drawings for the retaining wall as part of those separate submittals.

No appeals, conditions beyond the two staff conditions, or separate remediation measures were recorded in the transcript.