Decatur zoning board allows accessory storage building now, conditions primary residence within 30 months

The Board of Zoning and Adjustments approved an applicant’s request to construct an accessory storage building at 3705 Montclair Road before the primary residence is built, but the approval includes a condition that the primary residence be completed within 30 months of the decision.

Applicant Francisco Hernandez told the board the storage building would be for personal storage while he plans to build the primary residence after his current home is sold. Planning staff and board members discussed enforcement and the difficulty of removing a structure if the primary residence is never built. A board member recommended tying the condition to sale of the existing residence; the board ultimately approved the requested accessory structure with a condition that the principal dwelling be built within two and a half years (30 months) from the date of approval.

The applicant told the board the structure would be for personal storage, not a business or equipment yard. The board emphasized the accessory building cannot be used as an entertainment or commercial space and must be shown on the lot plan when the residence is proposed. The motion to approve included the 30-month condition; roll-call responses in the record show multiple members voting “yes” and the board announced the request was approved.

Discussion versus decision: the hearing record contains substantive discussion about enforcement risk and time limits; the formal action was approval with a time-bound condition tied to the applicant’s stated timeline for building the primary dwelling.