Snellville staff to draft standards for detention ponds, buffering and fencing

Snellville planning staff told the mayor and council they will bring a draft framework to update zoning and design guidelines for stormwater detention facilities, including locational standards, buffering and fencing requirements.

Jason, a member of the city planning staff, told the council staff reviewed Gwinnett County and four nearby cities — Lawrenceville, Duluth, Suwanee and Lilburn — and found many jurisdictions either adopt county stormwater code by reference or prohibit underground (buried) detention in residential settings because of long-term maintenance concerns. “Is underground detention required? No,” Jason said during the presentation.

Staff recommended standards to locate ponds to “catch the water at the lowest point” to avoid pushing stormwater onto neighbors, require clearer maintenance responsibility (typically homeowners’ associations for residential ponds), and add aesthetic buffering such as planting and higher-quality fencing when ponds are near major roadways.

Council members and staff discussed examples in Snellville where recent developments have visible detention facilities along roadsides and agreed that material and planting standards should be codified so ponds age well and require less maintenance over time. Staff said they could require developers to show a preliminary stormwater design at rezoning or application submission to reduce “bait-and-switch” changes later in the entitlement process.

Jason and planning staff will prepare a summary of proposals and ordinance language for council feedback at a future meeting; staff estimated the work can fit into the next code-revision cycle and planning commission schedule.