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Council approves conditional use permit for columbarium at Sandy Springs Christian Church with 6‑foot fence condition
Summary
The council approved a conditional use permit to allow six columbarium structures at Sandy Springs Christian Church (301 Johnsons Ferry Road), requiring a minimum 6‑foot opaque fence and supplemental landscaping screening prior to installation.
Sandy Springs City Council granted a conditional use permit to Sandy Springs Christian Church to install six columbarium structures on its 5.34‑acre campus at 301 Johnsons Ferry Road. The structures were proposed on a 448‑square‑foot concrete pad adjacent to an existing pavilion and would contain up to 240 niches; each structure would be a maximum of 7.5 feet tall and 9.5 feet wide.
Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions focused on screening between the church parking area and adjacent residential properties. Michelle McIntosh Ross, planning and zoning manager, said staff recommended a combination of fencing and landscaping and required the owner to replace any dead plantings within three years. The Planning Commission urged the requirement be fencing only.
The church’s attorney, Jordan Edwards with the Galloway Law Group, told council the church and neighbors had reached consensus on a replacement condition calling for an opaque fence. He explained columbaria are commonly located at churches nearby, said the proposed masonry‑matching walls would be more than 130 feet from the nearest property line and noted the site has substantial existing forested buffer.
Council member Melissa Mueller moved to approve the CUP with a revised condition that requires an opaque fence of solid wood or other nontransparent material at least 6 feet tall, to be installed in the location shown on the submitted fencing exhibit prior to construction of the columbarium; the motion was seconded and adopted. The resolution also requires compliance with the Georgia Cemetery and Funeral Act of 2000 (OCGA title referenced by staff) and that the development be substantially similar to the submitted site plan.
Staff noted that two public comments had been filed through the portal in opposition but that neighbors had recently reported coming to a consensus supporting the fence condition. Council made no changes to other staff conditions and recorded the CUP as approved during the meeting.
