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Board denies full buffer cut but approves narrower landscaping exceptions for Sweet Dreams memorial garden
Summary
Cherokee County board denied the applicant27s request to reduce a required 50-foot undisturbed buffer to 10 feet for a proposed memorial garden but approved limited disturbance/replanting tied to removal of existing structures, a curb cut within the western buffer, removal of a streetscape requirement along a private drive, and four additional parking spaces. Attorney Adam Rosen and owner Dr. Amy Crowder presented stipulations and said the garden would be landscaped and non-cemetery; neighbors objected citing property impacts and hardship criteria.
The Cherokee County appeals board rejected one of the most contested elements of a variance package for Sweet Dreams In-Home Pet Euthanasia on Highway 92, voting to deny a request to reduce the ordinance27s required 50-foot undisturbed buffer next to residentially zoned parcels to 10 feet.
Staff outlined the multiple variance requests, which also sought relief from Highway 92 overlay streetscape and fencing rules and permission for a new curb cut and four additional parking spaces. "Article 10 requires a 50-foot undisturbed zoning buffer when an LI zone abuts residentially zoned property; the applicant proposes to reduce this to 10 feet," the county planner said during the presentation (staff comments summarized from the record). Adam Rosen, who represented the applicant, submitted a stipulation letter and said the property had long been nonconforming, showing aerial photos and reasoning that the existing development and historic site conditions justified targeted variances. Rosen told the board his team had collected hundreds of support letters and that the applicant was willing to agree to conditions limiting future construction within the buffer.
Dr. Amy Crowder, the applicant and owner, described the memorial garden as a screened passive outdoor space "to be a healing place for our community," and emphasized she would not use the grounds as a pet cemetery. Neighbors represented by attorney Joshua Scoggins opposed the rear buffer reduction, arguing the hardship standards in Article 15.14 were not met and urging the board to preserve the full buffer to protect property values and the neighbors' use of their lots.
On votes tied to the case the board split its decisions: members voted to deny the 50-to-10-foot buffer reduction (motion passed 4-1), but later approved a narrowly tailored variance permitting disturbance and replanting only where existing structures are removed (subject to approval by the Cherokee County arborist), approved a curb cut location in the western buffer (5-0), and approved removing the Highway 92 overlay streetscape along the private Lake K Drive frontage (5-0). The board also denied a request to eliminate the fence requirement along the Highway 92 frontage and denied removing the overstory-tree planting requirement; it approved increasing parking from 36 to 40 spaces (5-0).
The board's decisions combine stricter protection for residential adjacency with limited, site-specific flexibility for the applicant27s landscaping plans. Next procedural steps include conditioned permit revisions, arborist review of any replanting plans, and any necessary administrative permits for the approved curb cut and parking modifications.
