Board approves stream-buffer variance for 6895 Downs Avenue

The Johns Creek Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance on V-24-0009 to allow an outdoor patio, pathway and retaining walls at 6895 Downs Avenue to remain within the city's 75-foot stream buffer.

Alan Guerra, Planner II with the Community Development Department, told the board that the as-built survey shows the city's 75-foot stream-buffer standard now extends over more than half of the existing home and deck. Staff said an unauthorized patio, retaining walls and pathways were constructed without a permit in March 2024 and the city issued a notice of violation on March 26, 2024. Guerra said the proposal would result in a net increase of 526 square feet of impervious surface within the city stream buffer and a 158-square-foot area of new disturbance.

The applicant, homeowner Tejas Sarvoya, said the landscaping and retaining walls addressed erosion and water retention problems on a sloped backyard and that the buffer standard had changed since he purchased the property. "I was unaware of that 75 feet buffer," Sarvoya said, explaining the work was meant to make the backyard usable and reduce erosion.

Staff recommended approval, saying 80% of the lot falls within the 75-foot buffer and that granting the variance would bring the existing house and improvements into compliance with current code while only negligibly impacting the stream. The board approved the variance with staff conditions requiring adherence to the encroachments shown on the as-built survey dated 09/23/2024 and a vegetative planting plan consistent with the mitigation plan dated 09/26/2024 that must pass city inspection prior to issuance of a certificate of completion.

The motion to approve followed brief questions from board members about whether retaining walls required a building permit; staff said the building permit requirement was tied to the improvements, not solely to the buffer encroachment.

The board voted to approve V-24-0009 with the conditions presented by staff.