Council approves Levitan plan for eight downtown homes with amended streetscape conditions

Alpharetta City Council on March 23 approved a rezoning and variance request (Z-25-10/V-25-22) to allow eight single-family dwellings at 75 and 91 Roswell Street in downtown Alpharetta, subject to amended conditions governing the Roswell Street streetscape and utility/tree spacing.

Staff presented the proposal as a conversion from an earlier office/restaurant approval to a residential plan with eight units (two duplexes and six detached homes), 32 on-site parking spaces and a 5,000-square-foot amenity area that would serve as a pocket park. Staff said the residential proposal would generate fewer peak-hour vehicle trips than the previously permitted office/restaurant use and that planning commission unanimously recommended approval with conditions.

Applicant civil engineer Chris Owens and property owner Jeff Levitan outlined the design intent to preserve an existing brick streetscape and several mature trees at the corner pocket park. Owens said the team had discussed relocating overhead utilities horizontally but that full undergrounding would be expensive; the applicant proposed working with Georgia Power and staff to achieve the best feasible outcome. He also said the developers had discussed stormwater solutions with Victoria Square and believed the community’s pond had capacity to accept additional runoff if a shared agreement is finalized; if not, the site reserves space for underground detention.

Council and staff negotiated modest condition changes requested by the applicant: widening the Roswell Street planter to 4 feet with a six-foot sidewalk in most frontage areas while preserving the existing brick streetscape across the pocket park; and relaxing the staff’s original 30-foot combined offset requirement for trees and overhead utilities to a 24-foot workable distance in constrained areas with final plantings subject to DRB approval. The council adopted the project and the revised conditions by unanimous vote.

The approval includes commitments for final design review (DRB), potential dedication of half of Cotton Alley if required, and continued coordination on stormwater and utility relocation. The applicant said the pocket park could be accessible to the public while retaining measures to keep residential yards buffered.