Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Residential Infill topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dunwoody zoning board approves four Nureen Circle infill variances, with conditions
Summary
The Dunwoody Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved variance requests allowing four new infill homes on Nureen Circle to sit closer to the street, imposing site-plan, landscape, and two‑year construction-start conditions; two of the approvals also allow foundation-attached wing walls and one permits limited stream-buffer work for engineered stormwater improvements.
The Dunwoody Zoning Board of Appeals on July unanimously approved special exceptions and related variances for four infill homes on Nureen Circle, granting relief from contextual street‑setback requirements while attaching conditions intended to limit visual and environmental impacts.
Staff presented two paired cases at the meeting: ZBA26-11 (1414 Nureen Circle) and ZBA26-12 (1412 Nureen Circle). Staff recommended approval because the lots are constrained by on-site septic requirements (no county sewer) that necessitate primary and replacement leach fields and reduce usable buildable area. Applicant Lael Manoa said both houses will be personal residences, that neighbors had been contacted, and that proposed landscaping and privacy fences would reduce visual impacts. A board member moved approval subject to three conditions: substantial compliance with the submitted site plan (appendix A), substantial compliance with the submitted landscape plan (Brunson & Company Landscape Architects, dated 06/19/2026, appendix B), and voiding the variance if construction does not commence within two years. The motion passed unanimously for both lots.
Later in the agenda, the board considered two additional paired cases from the same developer: ZBA26-14 (1348 Nureen Circle) and ZBA26-15 (1340 Nureen Circle). Applicant Jim Milam described steep topography and existing erosion at the rear of both lots and said the projects require wing walls (foundation‑attached retaining elements) to create level, buildable areas and walkout basements. For ZBA26-14 staff also recommended a limited stream‑buffer encroachment to allow backfilling of an eroded channel and construction of an engineered open ditch lined with geotextile fabric and riprap; staff said the design would reroute existing runoff into a more controlled channel and minimize further erosion. The board approved both cases unanimously with the standard site‑plan compliance and two‑year commencement conditions.
Board members and several neighbors noted concerns about tree removal, neighborhood character and the visual effect of houses closer to the street; staff and applicants responded that landscaping plans and screening were part of the approvals and that some tree loss was related to long‑standing erosion. The approvals require the projects to follow the submitted plans and placed an emphasis on mitigation measures specified in the appendices.
The board’s approvals reference the city’s zoning provisions (Chapter 27, Section 1-47 for contextual street setbacks; Chapter 27, Section 2-70 for side‑setback/wing‑wall variances) and impose identical administrative conditions across the cases: adherence to the site plan, adherence to the landscape plan where specified, and a two‑year window to begin construction. If construction does not begin within that period, the approval will be void.
