Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Residential Setback Stream Buffer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Alpharetta panel allows smaller front setback for Coleridge Forest lot, says new house won’t extend further into stream buffers
Summary
The panel approved a variance reducing a platted 50‑foot front setback to 35 feet to allow a two‑story, ~3,100 sq ft replacement home at 100 Jane Ellen Way; staff and stormwater reviewed the plan and concluded the new footprint does not increase encroachment into two perennial stream buffers on the lot.
A hearing panel approved a variance permitting a 35‑foot front setback for a new single‑family home at 100 Jane Ellen Way, allowing the owner to replace an existing home with a larger, two‑story residence while avoiding additional impacts to on‑site stream buffers.
Planning staff said the property sits in the Coleridge Forest subdivision, is roughly a little over half an acre, zoned R‑15, and contains two perennial streams whose buffers cover much of the lot. The platted front setback for the subdivision is 50 feet; the R‑15 zoning district would normally allow a 35‑foot front setback, so the applicant requested a variance from the platted 50‑foot requirement to build at 35 feet.
“This site plan is depicting the existing home being removed with a new two‑story, 3,100 square foot home,” the staff presenter said, and staff concluded the new footprint would not extend further into the stream buffers than the existing home. Staff said the applicant worked with the city’s stormwater engineer, who confirmed the proposed plan would not increase buffer impacts.
Builder Michael McLaughlin, representing owner Herbert Frederick, said the design reduces the lowest level footprint (garage/entry) and uses split levels and a cantilever to limit ground‑level impacts near the streams. “We’ve gone through a whole redesign of the house for the purposes of meeting the conditions and to impact the flood zone or the stream buffer less,” McLaughlin said.
Board members questioned whether the approval would set a precedent for other lots with stream buffers. Staff said this case is distinct because the lot was previously developed and the new plan does not increase encroachment; if an undeveloped lot with stream buffers applied, staff would evaluate differently.
Staff recommended approval subject to a single condition tying the variance to the submitted site plan (Crescent View Engineering LLC, revised 04/03/2025). The panel approved the variance; the transcript records the motion and a unanimous favorable vote.
