Fannin County commissioners table Smiley Family Trust garage setback variance after neighbors object

Commissioners for Fannin County voted to table a variance request from the Smiley Family Trust after neighbors raised covenant and right-of-way concerns. The trust seeks permission to build a garage with one corner 19 feet from the road edge and another corner 31 feet from the edge of Coldwater Creek road. The matter will return at the board's next regular meeting so staff can determine the precise right-of-way measurement and whether a prior variance precedent exists.

Cliff Nancey, speaking for the Riverwalk property owners association, said the subdivision covenants require 50-foot setbacks and warned the county that granting a variance could create an uneven precedent for future requests. "Our covenants say 50 feet from the edge of the road," Nancey said, urging the commissioners to consider how past enforcement and community aesthetics would be affected. Commissioners noted they could not enforce private covenants but agreed the county should confirm the technical right-of-way and whether other variances had been granted in the subdivision.

Chair Speaker 2 moved to table the request for further investigation; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The board instructed staff to confirm whether the applicant's drawings measure from road surface or from the recorded right-of-way and to report back with any record of prior variances for that phase of Riverwalk. The board did not take a final vote on the variance at this meeting.

Next steps: the variance will be revisited at the board's next regular meeting after staff research on right-of-way lines and the subdivision's recorded covenants.