Marietta planning panel recommends denying rezoning request for 29 Duran Avenue

The City of Marietta Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of a rezoning request for 0.52 acres at 29 Duran Avenue after public comment and debate over required variances and neighborhood impacts.

The applicant, Derek Turner, said he and the property owner, Ashley, requested rezoning from CRC (Community Retail Commercial) to PRDSF (Planned Residential Development, Single Family) to build six townhome-style units. "We're proposing to rezone a half acre from CRC to PRDSF," Turner said, describing the site's prior use as a long-running pump-distribution business and noting recent tenant vacancy after Ashley sold the business.

Planning staff told the commission the property lies in an area designated for medium-density residential use in the February 2022 comprehensive plan and summarized the requested zoning change and related code variances. Turner said the development would include two-car garages and 20-foot driveways and that the homes are designed at about 2,200–2,300 square feet and intended to appeal to 55-plus empty nesters and dual-income millennials; he estimated current sale prices would target "around the mid-5 hundreds."

Neighbors and others at the hearing raised concerns about three variances Turner said the project would need: an exemption from the PRDSF minimum lot-size requirement (the code's minimum is three acres), a reduction of the active/passive recreation open-space requirement (estimated at roughly 20–25%), and relief from guest-parking requirements. Rosser Sutherland, who said he lives about a quarter mile away on Alexander Circle, said he supported the concept but warned that approving a half-acre PRDSF could set a precedent for other nearby undeveloped lots.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on site access, grading and construction staging. Turner described how buildings would "slip" with the grade so the first three buildings remain flat while later units step down the slope, and said he would reduce unit widths from 28 to 26 feet to improve access. He also said he had informal arrangements for overflow parking with a nearby law office and hoped to negotiate limited weekday relief with the adjacent church for occasional guest parking.

Alan Worthy, building and grounds manager for the church referenced in the discussion, told the commission the church's lot is already over capacity on weekends and for funerals and asked that the church's property not be used for construction staging or long-term storage of materials.

After public comment and applicant responses, a commissioner moved to deny the proposal "as submitted." The motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor; the chair said, "It looks like the ayes have it. So we will go with that. And that will be our recommendation to City Council." The commission's recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final action at its scheduled hearing.

The applicant was advised that council agenda review occurs on Monday at 5:15 p.m. and the council hearing would be the following Wednesday at 7 p.m.; attendance was recommended but not required.