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ZBA approves stream‑buffer variance to repair erosion at Marvin Land Lane
Summary
The board approved a variance allowing limited disturbance within the county's 50‑foot stream buffer and impervious setback at 397 Marvin Land Lane to install riprap and widen a swale to reduce erosion; applicant Ronnie Klein and Riverbend Environmental recommended the work and neighbors offered mixed input. The motion passed 4‑0.
Thomas introduced case 2604.013: a request to allow encroachment and disturbance within Cherokee County’s 50‑foot undisturbed stream buffer and within a 75‑foot impervious setback at a roughly 2‑acre lot in the Estates at Marvin Land subdivision. Staff explained the property contains a spring head and an intermittent stream; the applicant proposed riprap at the edge of the 25‑foot state buffer so the project would not encroach into the state buffer.
Ronnie Klein, owner and representative with North Highlands Contracting, told the board the plan is to take a concentrated flow and spread it out over a 15–20 foot swale so the water will “flow more natural” and reduce sediment entering the stream. Klein said Riverbend Environmental reviewed the site, supported the erosion‑control approach and noted an endangered fish in the area that informed packet recommendations. The application file included an environmental report and one letter of opposition.
Board members asked technical questions about the extent of proposed riprap and whether the home would be constructed in the impervious setback. Klein said riprap would be installed in the lower 10 feet of the county buffer and that the structure itself would be placed outside the impervious setback. A commissioner suggested adding language to any approval that the house would not be built within the impervious setback; the applicant agreed to that condition.
A motion to approve the variance with the amendment that the house shall not be constructed within the impervious setback was moved, seconded and approved 4‑0. Board members cited the need to address ongoing erosion and the environmental benefit of reducing concentrated sediment flows.
The applicant may proceed to obtain required permits and must follow the board’s recorded conditions and any stipulations from the environmental report.
