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Milton BZA approves side-yard variance for Champions View home to allow garage addition
Summary
The Milton Board of Zoning Appeals on June 17 approved a variance allowing a Champions View homeowner to reduce the 25-foot side yard to 15.2 feet for a 16-by-20-foot garage addition, with two conditions including submission of a foundation survey before vertical construction.
On June 17, 2025, the Milton Board of Zoning Appeals approved variance V-25-14435 for a Champions View Drive property, permitting a side-yard setback reduction to accommodate a single-car garage addition with an office space above.
City senior planner Michael Cardeman told the board the property is a 1.12-acre, pie-shaped lot in the Champions View subdivision zoned AG-1 in the rural Milton overlay. The applicant sought to reduce the 25-foot minimum side yard to 15.2 feet for the proposed addition, a reduction equivalent to a 9.8-foot encroachment. Cardeman noted the property has a 20-foot drainage easement along the eastern property line and a septic system in the rear, which constrained alternative locations for the garage.
Applicant Gary Warren said the owner, Jonathan Stover, needs an on-site garage because the house lacks sufficient space for additional vehicles, and the bonus space above the garage is planned as a home office. Homeowner Lynette Stover described the lot topography and existing septic and drainage constraints and said the family has had to pay for lawn service because they lack space to store equipment. “We have nowhere that we can actually put a garage to store not only a vehicle, but our yard equipment,” Lynette Stover said.
The Design Review Board reviewed the elevations on June 3 and recommended approval, noting the entry door provided favorable architectural character and that the proposed garage does not encroach into the drainage easement. Cardeman said staff recommended approval with two conditions: the work conform to the variance site plan from Pinnacle Land Surveying Services received May 7, 2025, and that the applicant provide a foundation survey to the Community Development Department before vertical construction.
Hodge Patel moved to approve the variance with the two staff conditions; Lauren Holmes seconded. In deliberations board members cited existing three-car garages in the neighborhood as precedent and found the lot’s shape, septic location and drainage easement constituted an extraordinary condition supporting hardship. The motion passed unanimously.
The approved variance allows the proposed 16-by-20-foot addition to proceed under the specified conditions; the applicant must supply the foundation survey and continue coordination with city staff before construction.
