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Elbert County approves variance for accessory structure at 615 Coyote Trail
Summary
The Board of Adjustment approved variance VA2025-0001 on Aug. 13, 2025, allowing an accessory garage to encroach into the lot's building envelope at 615 Coyote Trail in the Coyote Hills subdivision of Elizabeth. Approval included staff conditions and remains subject to the neighborhood architectural review committee's approval.
The Elbert County Board of Adjustment approved a variance Aug. 13, 2025, to allow construction of an accessory structure at 615 Coyote Trail in Elizabeth, case VA2025-0001. The board voted in favor of the motion; recorded votes were unanimous in the affirmative and the approval carried with the conditions recommended by staff.
Danny Klvanner, a land use planner with the Elbert County Community and Development Services Department, told the board the five-acre property is zoned Residential Agriculture 1 (RA-1) and sits in the Coyote Hills subdivision roughly five miles north of Elizabeth. "The variance will allow for the construction of an accessory structure," Klvanner said, and the request seeks to reduce the building-envelope setback so a garage can be sited in the southeast corner of the lot adjacent to the existing driveway and leach field.
The planner presented a site plan showing a proposed building approximately 50 by 40 feet located about 73 feet from the property line. Klvanner said the standard front setback shown on the plat is 100 feet and that the requested change represents a 27-foot encroachment on the RA-1 front setback and a 57-foot reduction to the lot's building envelope. Klvanner also noted that the lot has no wetlands or flood plain and that internal and external referral agencies raised no objections.
During the public hearing no members of the general public registered comments, and Klvanner reported the applicant had provided revisions requested during review. Michael Presser, the property owner and applicant, spoke from the hearing room and said nearby neighbors had reviewed and approved the plan. Presser confirmed he agreed to the staff conditions of approval, saying, "Yes, I do." At one point Presser characterized the desired building as "a small envelope" and said, "We're trying to get just a little 30 by 50," a size statement that differs from the roughly 50-by-40-foot dimension shown on the planner's site plan.
The county followed notice requirements: mailed notices to property owners within a quarter mile, a public notice sign posted on the property July 27, and a legal notice published in the Ranchland News on July 24. The first review cycle ran May 1'22, 2025. Klvanner said the nearby homeowner association's architectural review committee (ARC) must still separately approve any modification under the subdivision covenants; the applicant was aware of that requirement.
The board approved the variance with the three written conditions recommended by staff: require removal of the public hearing sign within seven days of the decision; make the variance effective only after payment of all fees and recordation of the variance resolution; and complete recordation of all required documentation within 180 days of Board of Adjustment approval.
The board opened the meeting as the Board of Adjustment to hear VA2025-0001 and closed the Board of Adjustment after voting. The action was recorded as approved; the variance will not become effective until the listed conditions are satisfied and the required documents are recorded.
