Smyrna variance board approves three variances, tables one; stormwater mitigation required for deck expansion

The Smyrna Variance Board met Oct. 22 and, in unanimous 3-0 votes, approved three separate variance requests and tabled a fourth. Actions included approval of a reduced front-yard setback on Dundee Drive, approval of an increase in allowable impervious surface for a Queensgate Drive property conditional on a rain-garden mitigation plan and recorded stormwater inspection and maintenance agreement, and approval of a side-setback reduction for an existing accessory structure on Howell Drive. A request to allow a secondary accessory structure at a Belmont Avenue address was tabled.

Board staff said the cases involved small-scale residential changes where staff found either practical difficulties created by older recorded plats or preexisting site conditions. Caitlin Crow, land development services coordinator for community development, told the board the Dundee Drive lot was platted in 1959 with a 30-foot front setback, while the county’s current zoning ordinance (1974) requires a 35-foot front setback, creating the conflict that prompted the variance request.

The board tabled variance request V25‑095, described on the agenda as a request to allow a secondary accessory structure at Land Lot 562 (1413 Belmont Avenue), applicant Chris Agrell. A motion to table passed 3-0. No public comment on that item was recorded.

The board approved variance V25‑092 to reduce the required front setback from 35 feet to 28.4 feet for a property on Dundee Drive. Crow said the existing…