BZA approves setback reduction on High Green Drive, citing drainage hardship; DOT comments included

The Cobb County Board of Zoning Appeals approved on May 14 a variance (B-58-2025) to reduce the major side setback from the required 25 feet to 15 feet for a corner lot at the northwest corner of High Green Drive and High Green Court, a request made to permit construction of a new two-story house facing High Green Court.

Applicant Hamid Alai, president of Unique Design Construction and the project's builder, told the board that severe drainage and a headwall collecting runoff along the north property line create a safety and construction concern that justified orienting the new house away from the drainage feature. "The volume of the water is extremely too high," Alai said, describing video evidence of normal-rain events producing significant flow through the drainage channel adjacent to the lot. He told the board he had gathered about 16 or 17 neighbor signatures in support of the proposed design and replacement of the older structure.

David Rumrill, East Cobb Civic Association (ECCA) case manager for B-58, urged denial. Rumrill said the lot is an R-20 corner parcel and that a new home could be built that complied with R-20 requirements without the requested reduction. He provided site photos and argued a 57% effective reduction from the existing 35-foot setback to a proposed 15-foot setback along High Green Drive would be incompatible with adjacent homes and would obstruct neighboring views. He also noted that several neighbors who would be most affected did not sign the consent letter.

Board members discussed work the applicant had done with the Department of Transportation to resolve access or sight-line issues and recognized the drainage concerns Alai presented. One board member said the rear drainage and erosion risk would make it undesirable to orient living areas to face the headwall and moved to approve the variance, specifically including the revised DOT comments in the approval; another member seconded the motion. The board approved the request and the clerk was asked to record that DOT comments be included in the motion record.

The applicant described plans to remove the existing 2,674-square-foot split-level home and construct a 5,400-square-foot two-story dwelling oriented to High Green Court; ECCA materials and the applicant's drainage video and neighbor-consent forms are included in the case packet. The board's approval includes the stipulation that the Department of Transportation comments be included in the approval record and that any required permitting or mitigation identified by stormwater management be addressed during permitting.