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Board grants barn‑setback variances for long‑standing farm structures, with condition
Summary
The zoning board approved variances allowing two separate applicants to keep existing barn structures located closer than the 75‑foot setback, on the condition the buildings not be used to house livestock; applicants said the barns predate modern surveys and moving them would be costly.
The Cherokee County Zoning Board of Appeals approved multiple variances to Article 5 to allow existing barn or shed structures to remain inside the 75‑foot setback for two separate properties, including one estate subdivision and one small tract subdivision, and attached a no‑livestock condition to the approvals.
For case 251162 (604 & 632 Newt Green Road), applicant representative Alice Price told the board the Wheeler family is subdividing a tract and that topography and existing concrete pads limit options for relocating a storage shed and a metal shed. "These the Wheeler family does own a number of properties... Due to the topography of this site, it comes down quite a bit here to the stream," Price said, noting there is no intention to house livestock. The board discussed imposing a condition prohibiting livestock and approved the variance 4–0 with Ms. Doss recused.
In a separate, similar request (case 251164) for an estate on Ball Ground Road, surveyor Walt Cagle said the two barns have been present more than 60 years and are used for hay and equipment storage; he told the board moving or rebuilding them would cost roughly "in excess of $100,000." Board members again conditioned approval on the buildings not being used to house livestock, and the motion passed 5–0.
Both approvals cite Article 5.6, which defines barn structures and requires a 75‑foot setback from property lines; applicants argued the historic placement and agricultural use create practical hardships for subdivision. The board’s conditions limit future agricultural use in those buildings pending any future variance or rezoning.
The decisions preserve existing farm structures while imposing a land‑use limitation intended to address neighbors’ concerns about new or intensified livestock operations.
