Smyrna board approves change of agent, clears multiple variances tied to setbacks and stream buffers

Smyrna — The License and Variance Board on Jan. 14 approved a change of agent for Sitco Quick Food Mart and granted multiple zoning variances for residential properties across the city, actions the board said were supported by staff recommendations and engineering review.

The meeting, called to order by Chair Richard Garland, opened with License Item LIC 2025055, a request to designate Shilpa Kerig Patel as the agent for packaged beer-and-wine sales at 540 Concord Road (OHM Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Sitco Quick Food Mart). City staff confirmed the applicant has attended responsible-sales training and uses point-of-sale prompts to check identification. A board member moved to approve the change of agent and the motion passed unanimously. "City of Smyrna takes this very seriously," Garland said, noting the police force conducts sting operations to verify age-restriction compliance.

Much of the meeting then focused on land-use variances. Community Development Land Development Services Coordinator Caitlin Crowe presented staff summaries and recommendations for a series of variance requests, emphasizing that many properties were platted or built before the city adopted stream-buffer rules in 2005 and that engineering had reviewed mitigation plans. "The hardship is not self created," Crowe said of several properties sited within older plats; in multiple cases staff recommended approval with standard stipulations such as substantial compliance with the submitted site and…