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BZA approves variance for Greenfield Drive owner to add garage and master bedroom despite ECCA opposition
Summary
The Cobb County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance May 14 allowing Timothy Thompson to reduce the rear setback from 35 to 10 feet and an accessory-shed setback from 5 to 2 feet to build a garage and master-bedroom addition; the East Cobb Civic Association had recommended denial citing lack of hardship.
The Cobb County Board of Zoning Appeals approved variance V-59 on May 14 permitting Timothy Thompson to reduce a rear setback from 35 feet to 10 feet and to reduce the setback for an existing 64-square-foot accessory shed from 5 feet to 2 feet at a lot on Greenfield Drive, enabling the owner to build a garage and a master-bedroom addition.
Thompson told the board the lot has an unusual shape and that a survey error placed a 35-foot setback where a 10-foot side setback had been expected. He said the configuration and an easement constrained the buildable area and that the change was necessary to fit a garage and master suite into the design. "Basically, I'm just trying to get a garage and a master bedroom in that space," Thompson said. His architect was present during the hearing.
Richard Grom, East Cobb Civic Association (ECCA) case manager for V-59, urged the board to deny the first variance. He said ECCA had reviewed deeds and public records but was unable to verify a claimed historical 30-foot minimum setback adjacent to Indian Hills Golf Course and found no demonstrated hardship. "ECCA recommends denial of variance 1 due to the lack of hardship," Grom told the board. He also noted that the applicant submitted signed consents from contiguous landowners but not the owner of the Indian Hills Golf Course.
A board member who reviewed the site and the effects of stream buffers said the buffers significantly constrained the buildable area and moved to approve the variance on that basis. The motion was seconded and the board recorded the variance as approved.
The board did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript. The case record includes applicant-submitted neighbor consents (excluding the golf-course owner), the applicant's survey materials, and ECCA's recommendation packet.
