Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

sit right here. Okay. What her name at? Where you at? We're going

right here. What your name? Like what's your name? [Music] Yeah, he supposed to be on the Yeah. Um, who else needed there? You gave his and Miss Williams got hers. I do. Okay. So, you fine. Just hold on to

Give it back to Give it back to Brian Brian. Kevin forest. Okay. Just kidding. Just kidding. Thank you. This one's got yours.

You sitting another one. Yeah, he said he was Amber, we rolling. Yes. All right.

It is October 20th. We're going to call to order the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting for this October at 2:30 p.m. We'll start by reading our statement of powers. The Augusta Board of Zoning Appeals hears and makes decisions on applications for variances in accordance with powers granted under section 1-4-88 of the Augusta, Georgia Code. The applicant must provide any scaled drawings or plot plans, including all dimensions, pictures, or any other supporting information at this meeting. Only information presented at this meeting may be used in any future hearings regarding this petition. Any person affected by the board's decision may file an appeal with the Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, within 30 days of the decision of this board. The meeting will be conducted in accordance with the board's bylaws in rules of procedure and the latest edition of Robert rules of order unless otherwise directed by the majority of the board in session at the time. A minimum of 10 minutes shall be afforded for the presentation of data, evidence, and opinions on each side of a petition. If more than 10 minutes is afforded to one side, then an equal amount of time shall be afforded to the other side. The board encourages participation in this hearing and there is no restriction on whom may address the board within the allotted time. But the board does ask that public comments be brief on subject and directed to the board at large, not any individual or group. Before we begin the meeting, I'd like to uh welcome our new board member, Angel Maestra.

Maestra from uh District 5. We're really glad to have you on board and thank you for being here. All right, first order of business is to approve the minutes from the September 15th meeting. I assume that the board has had a chance to review that and if they would, I'd welcome a motion for approval. I make a motion to approve our minutes from September the 15, 2025 meeting. Second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor by show of hands.

Yes. All right. That passes unanimously. We will move to our uh second item on the agenda. Good afternoon. Start off with BCA-25-34, a petition by Matthew Howard requesting a variance from section 8-8B2 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance to reduce the required set size yard setbacks from 7 ft to 5 ft on property located at 2345 William Street. Staff will present.

Good afternoon. Ashley Caterton, development services administrator. As mentioned, this case um was postponed from September and the background of this request involves a 0.28 acre track currently zoned R1A single family residential and it is situated within the Somerville Historic District. The applicant seeks a variance to reduce the sideyard setback along the eastern property line from 7 feet to 5t in order to construct a new residence which includes a twocar garage garage at the rear of the property. The findings for this report, according to the applicant, the current property has been uninhabited for several years due to fire damage, and the proposed plan will demolish what currently remains of the existing residence. The residential lot is approximately 60 ft wide and 198 ft long. The proposed home and garage will encroach two feet into the required sideyard setback along the eastern property line. The conceptual site plan submitted with the application shows a proposed site design that relocates parking to the rear of the property in order to reduce dependency on street parking. Um, which it the applicant indicates is limited within the Somerville Historic District. Approval of this request would not exceed the maximum 30% allowable lot coverage of the property. And as mentioned, the subject property is located within the Somerville Historic District. Therefore, an approval and certificate certificate of appropriateness from the historic preservation commission is required prior to construction of the property on the property. At the time of at the time of completion of this report, a total of three letters of support with no additional inquiries were received by

staff concerning this variance application. And that concludes staff's presentation. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Catterton. Is the applicant present? If you would, I'll ask you to just stand at this podium. And if you would state your name and address for the record. I'm Greg Howard. I'm Matthew Howard's wife um at 4 Tall Pine Circle in Augusta 3099.

All right, Miss Howard, you have 10 minutes to add anything you may like. Well, the only thing I would like to add, and I don't know if you all uh were sent photographs um of all the cars on the street and the limited parking, that is probably safety being our number one objective um to be able to not have cars on the street and that section of William Street. Most of the lots are about 60 ft wide, which prohibits any front to rear uh driveways. Um so there are no garages. So, that is our our main goal is to get the cars off the street. Um, I'm happy to show pictures if you don't have them in your file if that helps. Um, the only other thing I wanted to add is the the current site plan, which I think you also have a copy of has an existing structure in the back of the property that is only two feet is only has a twoft setback. So, if we get approval um to move forward with um new construction, which I hope we do on Thursday, uh we will remove that structure that's already at within 2 feet and and make it five feet. So, that'll be an improvement. Um our neighbor is thrilled with that. So, she also um has given us um her praises for us to be able to have a driveway on the other side of the house and and have this um additional two feet. Okay. Thank you,

Miss Howard. Thank you. While we're doing that, I'm just going to ask a quick question of the staff. Do we have any um letters in opposition to this? None. All right. Is there anyone present in opposition to this application? All right. Seeing none, uh we can take a look at those photos and I'll open up the questions to the board. Mr. Riggum, how doesn't really show, but come up.

Well, when there's parking on both sides of the street, it creates a single lane coming down the middle of the road. So, all the homes at that section of William Street have no parking. So, they they all Yeah, here's another one. This might show a better one. Well, not semi. That's okay. You get the draft. There cars everywhere. I don't know what it is. That glare's coming from. But anyway, that that's what the front of the house looks like during the day and we would like to at least have our cars in the garage. Miss Howard, Mr. Bringham has a question for you. Sure.

Can you tell us when does the structure burn? How long it's been? A little closer to the mic if you don't mind. Sorry. A little closer to the mic. She can't hear you. How long has it been since the structure burned? Maybe my mic. A couple of years. Um couple of years. It's been uninhabited um or for at least two years. I was just curious. Thank you, Miss Williams.

Can we have staff's recommendation? Sorry about that y'all. The planning development staff recommends denial of the variance required as it does not meet all criteria established in section 33 of the comprehensive zone ordinance Augusta Georgia as it amended. Should the board move to approve that the applicant request staff recommends the following condition. Number one, allow for a minimum five foot side yard setback on the property to allow for the construction of a new home or garage. Number two, an approval of of a certificate of openness from the Historic Preservation Commission required prior to construction on the property. That concludes staff recommendation. Thank you,

Miss Howard. You heard staff recommendation. Do you agree with staff's recommendation or the two foot setback? Allow for a minimum five foot sideyard setback on the property. And then it says an approval of a certificate of appropriateness from the uh historic preservation commission. Yes. Prior to construction? Yes. You do agree? Yes. All right. Thanks, ma'am. Thank you. Any further questions, Mr. Turner? Um uh make a motion that we approve this with staff recommendations. Thank you. All right. All right, we have a motion to approve with the conditions stated by staff. Do I have a second? You have a second down here. Second. Thank you so much.

We have a motion and a second. Let's do this by show of hands. All in favor? Seeing none opposed, you have your appropriate your approval and you'll get that letter in the mail very shortly. Thank you for coming in. If staff doesn't mind, we'll go ahead and move to the next item on the agenda, please. Okay. Number three, BZA-25-35, a petition by Roberto Menddees Rodriguez requesting a variance from section 8-4E to increase the maximum accessory building square footage area from,200 ft to 4,280 ft² on the property property located at 11:05 and 11:01 Horseshoe Road Zone Agriculture. staff represent

Amanda Cruz, planner one. This variance request involves approximately 1.76 acres located at 11:01 and 11:05 Horseshoe Road. The properties are zoned agriculture and situated in the Horseshoe Farms neighborhood. The applicant seeks a variance to increase the maximum total accessory building square foot area from the permitted 1,200 square ft to 4,280 square ft to allow for an already constructed metal pole barn and storage shed. This application was continued from the September 15th, 2025 BZA meeting. There is an active code enforcement case uh CIP2025002497 for an unlawful structure built without proper building permits. This case relates to the metal pole barn on the property. Section two of the comprehensive zoning ordinance defines the use of an accessory building as being incidental to that of the main building on the same lot or of which it forms an integral part of the same lot main building. The metal pole barn that has been constructed is not on the same lot as the main residence. Therefore, by definition, it could not be an accessory building. The applicant proposes to combine 1101 and 11:05 Horseshoe Road into one parcel, which would meet the definition of an accessory building once combined. Section 8-4E of the comprehensive zoning ordinance states that the maximum total gross full arter area for all accessory buildings on a lot shall be based on the area of the lot upon which they are located for lots 10,000 square feet or larger. The ma or the maximum size is the greater of 500 square ft uh where located for lots 10,000 square feet or larger.

uh the maximum size is the greater of 500 square feet or 3% of the lot area but never more than 1,200 square f feet. This would allow for a maximum total gross floor area of accessory buildings at 1,200 square ft. The combined total of 4,280 ft of gross floor area exceeds the maximum allowed by approximately 357%. The applicant states that the sole purpose of the proposed metal pole barn is to provide a safe area to store equipment, preventing damage from weather elements and prolonging its longetivity. The proposed accessory garage building will have electrical service but no water. The approval of this request would not exceed the maximum 30% allowable lot coverage in the agriculture zoning. And at the time of completion of this report, no inquiries were received by staff concerning this variance application. That concludes staff presentation. Thank you, Miss Cruz. Is the applicant present today, Mr. Mendes? Thank you. And while y'all approach, if you wouldn't mind, please just state your name and address for the record. Mhm.

Rodriguez

115. Thank you very much. Um, are you able to understand my English today? Just curious. You have a translator? You're good. All right. If at any time you need clarification, we can do that for you. Okay. Uh, you have 10 minutes to add anything you'd like to add to this application. Um he he really doesn't want to add much except for um it is the storage unit. Well, it's basically like a little for storage really cuz all the equipment that we have and um that's about it. But I mean also that every um he owns the the whole lot right there, the two trailers also beside it. So if anything has to you know to do with that then it is there and also around the back the tree areas too.

Okay. If you wouldn't mind just holding on for just a second. Is there anyone present in opposition to today's applicant? Seeing none, I'm going to go ahead and double check with staff. We did not receive any complaints or anything against nothing. Fantastic. I'll open up questions for this board. Mr. Brigham. Sir, um, first question. Did you build this building yourself? Yes. You did? Did you not know you had to pull permits to build a building in Richmond County? [Music]

Um, He he he said he he he didn't think he had to take a permit out for that type of structure building. What kind can I ask? What kind of business y'all in? Um he we do electrical. You do electrical? Do you pull permits for your electrical business? Um yeah, the ones where we have to. Yes. I didn't know it was a have to case. I thought all electrical permits had to be pulled. It depends. It's small. You don't really um uh that is not what my staff is telling me.

Oh um well I mean I I know when you have to when you're when you're starting um the big brand new houses. Yeah. You have to pull permits for those and stuff. I think you have to pull permits anytime you do electrical changes. Oh I think you need to talk to the staff after the meeting about that. Um my So, you're in the construction business is basically what I'm hearing. Um, yes.

Okay. Um, I I may have other questions later. Mr. Turner. Uh, Mr. Chair, according to the uh application, the proposed building will have electrical service but not water. However, the staff recommendation on number three is that there may not we may not have a building with a separate electrical service. Can we get clarification if there will be a separate meter on this building? Yes, I think that's a great question. Do you understand the question that's being asked? It's

uh he said if it gets approved, he he is um going to plan on adding his own uh service feed to it. Uh so it have his own um electrical meter and stuff like that. Is it currently set up that way? Um, no. It just has a little line ran to it. So, we could just have some some little bulbs to have some type of power. This is basically extension cords.

Okay. Mr. Turner, if I may continue just to explain. Um, one of the conditions when we get staff's recommendation is going to be that there is no separate meter on that building because it is going to be deemed an accessory structure that cannot have that. So, I want you to pay particularly close attention when they say that because you if you agree to that, that would be a condition that you would have to be in agreement with. Just so you're aware. Did that answer your question, Mr. Chair? Uh, it did, Mr. Chair. Also clarified that this board could provide another there could be an application for variance to have a separate service. That is something that we do handle. Separate. Okay. Yes. Did I see Mr. Pascal raise his hand?

Um, staff, I I need some clarity. um by it being zon agricultural if he would have pulled a building permit he would not be in violation. Am I right? All right. Per the ordinance um the agricultural zoning relies heavily on the R1 zone. And for the R1 zone, it basically says the greater of 500 square feet or 3% of lot never to exceed 1,200 square feet. And this is several times that. So it would have required a variance. Mhm. Question. Mr. Keer,

can I add to that? If he if he applied for a building permit, part of the review would show that he exceeds the,200 square ft. And so that would require them there before to come before you to get a variance for that size building. So whether he had a building permit or not, he still would have to come before this board to get approval of a variance. Question answer your question, Mr. Pascal. All right. Yes, ma'am.

Okay. My question is to staff as well. You're saying that if he combines 1101 and 11:05 Horseshoe Road, then he would not be in violation by had by combining that he would not need to he wouldn't be in violation. I'm just trying to understand. Yeah. Technically, he would still be in violation because the uh maximum size limitation is 1,200 ft. So, he's over 4,000 square ft. So uh it still would have required the variance. So in other words, this is a requirement that these two would have to be combined.

Yeah. It brings them closer to that the the performance but and you still don't get them there. Yeah. And the way that it's separated the accessory building is all separate parcels in the primary structure. And so that would make that aspect conforming to the ordinance that and to my final understanding the building is already there. They've already constructed it. Yes. That's correct. Thank you, Miss Trevors. Miss Williams. Yes. Uh the young man stated that you all are aware that you have to pull permits for electrical. Yeah. You acknowledge that? Yeah. So, is this building wired? Did you all wire this building?

Um, no. It just it has uh hanging lights. So, there is no electrical inside this building. Um, oh yeah, he has um the Yeah, there's a line running from my house to the to the trailer and it it has uh lights. Yes.

Oh, okay. All right. The next question is for the attorney. If we've denied this, what would be the uh results for the petitioner? What would they have to do if this is denied? Well, they would be out of compliance and so technically they would they really would need to pull the building down um or they could fight you in court. Okay. Thank you. Um I'd like to add something.

Yes, sir. Uh y'all said in order for it to be a accessory building uh there has to be a a um a house. So u like I was stating uh he owns the trailer beside it. Would it be possible to combine that to make that an accessory building? It's on a separate lot is what you're saying. Um it's on the lot next to it. He says is um 1101 Horseshoe Road. Is that one's uh that str The little building that's right there is on 11:05 and the trailer is on 11:01. It's not relevant. It's not

Mr. Keeper. That's why the That's why the variance application is for both addresses. So they can combine the two therefore to make it an accessory building on one single lot. That's why the application states the two addresses.

You understand that? [Music] All right. Board member Trul would like to hear staff's recommendation, please. Okay. The plan and development staff recommends denial of the variance request as it does not meet all the criteria for granting variance established in section 33 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance as amended. Should the board move to approve the applicant request? Staff recommends the following condition. 11:01 and 11:05 Horseshoe Road shall be combined following approval of this variance request and before any building permits can be issued. Advance number two. Advance is approved for the increase of the maximum total accessory building square footage are on the property to 4280 square ft. Number three, the applicant knowledge of section 8-4F of the comprehensive zoning ordinance which outlines the following. Accessory buildings shall not be designed and used for residential purposes. They shall not contain sleeping or cooking facilities. Accessory building may not be used to conduct home occupation or serve as a home office. In no case may any accessory building have a separate electrical service. That concludes staff report. Thank you very much. Uh, were you able to to hear all of those conditions? Do you have those in front of you

by any chance? No, I don't. I was going to ask if after the meeting. Um, well, since we're going to be voting on whether or not that's going to be a condition, why don't you uh get a copy and then just uh make sure that you're I'm assuming is that your father? Yeah, that's my dad. If you wouldn't mind making sure that he understands that. what the um zoning ordinance it doesn't restrict your ability to have electrical in the building. You just can't have it on a separate meter. Yeah. Do you understand that? Yeah. It's it's not

right. Currently, it's not on a separate meter. Currently, it's just a a an extension cord essentially. Is that accurate? Yeah, it still goes to a box, but you know, it's it's not um permanent, right? That's that's why it's not permanent yet. Right. Okay. Ross, if I may get a point of clarity, when you say a box, you don't mean a separate meter that's metered through the power company. You mean a supply service to that building. Is that correct? And yeah. Okay. I just want to make sure we're all clear on that. But you recognize that um staff's recommendation is denial. But if we were to approve the condition is that there cannot be a separate meter for that.

Okay. Just making sure. Mr. Chairman, please explain to him that he can have a separate meter, but he's got to apply for a variance to do that. So it's cuz the the only reason I had said something about a separate meter is because um um you know um if the more things you plug in and you know the power you don't want it draining and he said if it did get applied he would like to have enough power there. So like the separator was just a suggestion of his but it wasn't like you know um the way we were going to go if we didn't have to. Thank you for that clarification. Yeah Mr. Turner.

Uh, like to ask if the applicant is agreeable to staff recommendations. I think you mean the conditions. I'm sorry, the conditions. Thank you. So, what he's asking is should we move to approve? Would you agree to those conditions that are listed there? Um, yeah. Yeah, we would we would do anything to get this approved really. Well, well, transparency is important. I'll make a motion to approve subject to staff conditions. Second. We have a motion for Mr. True, a second for Mr. Turner. Will we vote? Yes. We're going to have a a roll call on this one, Amber. But before we vote, Yes, sir.

Can we make sure the applicant understands this cannot be used as a residential residence? Sure. You recognize that you cannot use this in any shape or form as a residential All right, we're going to do a roll call for this one, please. Amber, and that's an approval with staff recommendations. Yes, ma'am. All right, board member Chivers, how do you vote? Um, approve it. Okay. Board member Turner, approve. Board member Morton, approve. Board member Trulock, approve. Okay. Board member Brian, ny. Okay. Board member E. Williams deny. Board member A. Williams

approve. Board member Row deny. Deny. Okay. And board member Forest approve. Board member Pascal deny. And board member is it Maestro? Yes. Approved. Approved. Okay. So, it's been approved. Okay. So, BZ 2535 has been approved for staff recommendations. Thank you so much for coming today. You have been approved with those staff recommendations and you will get your letter in the mail. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. If you don't mind, we'll go ahead and move to the next one. Okay. BZA-25-36, a petition by Bradford Mary on behalf of LMP Properties LLC requesting a variance from section 8-8A of the comprehended zoning ordinance to reduce the required front yard setback from 25 ft to 17 ft on property located at 30002 Spring Creek Drive. Staff will present.

All right, Kevin Boyd, development services manager. And since we have three cases that are very much similar, I'm probably going to read the findings for the first one, not for the other two. It's basically the same information as represented. All right, for the first item, this is ZB BZA uh 2536. This is a request uh that involves 0.27 acre track uh zone R1A, one family residential, and situated in the Spring Creek Village subdivision. The applicant seeks to reduce the front yard setback from 25 ft to 17 ft to allow for the construction of a single family residence. Um this application the other two are continued from the September 20th um meeting here. Uh in terms of the findings, the property is located at an intersection of uh Willis former and Spring Creek Drive. Uh the lot um within Spring Creek Village subdivision is a long and narrow um and uh the west side of property line is along uh Willis Farming Road being approximately 30 ft and on the east side of property line being 80 ft. The width of the lot along Spring Creek Drive is approximately 170 ft. Uh most of the lots in Spring Creek Village subdivision have lot depths of average of 100 ft or more and with a average lot width of approximately 80 ft. Uh section 8-8 the comprehensive 8-8A of the comprehensive zoning ordinance requires a front yard of 25 ft. Uh the covenences and restrictions of the Spring Creek Village subdivision requires a minimum 1300 square foot uh single family home on a lot. the applicant is uh or owner is wanting to

uh build larger homes than the minimum require uh requiring a variance to fit the home on the encroachment lot the lot encroaching 8 ft into the required front yard resulting in a 17 ft front uh setback. The requested front setback of 17 feet will be approximately 30% a 30% reduction at the time of completion of the revised report. We did receive six text messages um from surrounding property owners um in opposition of this uh proposal. That concludes staff's presentation. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, yes. I need to recuse myself from agenda item four, five, and six.

Noted. All right. Is the applicant present? Mr. Mary, if you will once again, please address podium with your name and address and you will have 10 minutes to add what you may like. That's fine.

Bradford W. Mary for Somerset Court, Augusta, Georgia 30909. And you as well, sir? Uh, Philip Muspe. Uh I'm actually the the owner of the sub of the of the lot and uh I live at 101 Fishry Road, Augusta 3099. Thank you very much. You guys have 10 minutes to add whatever you may like.

Uh we went and met with the homeowners last week as requested by the board at our last meeting. Um explained what setbacks were and the cost of building whenever they bought their houses versus the cost of building now. um and explain the covenants of the setbacks. If we can get them, we can put a much larger house on those lots. If we can't get the setbacks, according to the government covenants, we can drop a 1300 foot house in there for much less. That's why we're requesting the setbacks to help the neighborhood. Okay. Is that all you'd like to add? That's it.

All right. Any opposition present today? Just show of hands first. Excellent. And who do you have as a representative today? If you wouldn't mind, you can address this podium over here. And I'll just remind everybody, I know we talked last month as well, but let's try and keep all of our comments directed at the board. Okay. All right. Thank you. Same for you. Just name and address, please. My name is Jonathan Reic. I live at 3038 Spring Creek Drive. Thank you. And you as well, ma'am. and my name is Kim Lee Gathers and I reside at 3225 Woodlands Drive. Maggie, you have up to 10 minutes to add whatever you may like to this as well.

As uh Mr. uh Bradberry said, we met with the owner and the two realtors last week. Uh initially commended us on how nice the neighborhood looks and why we maintain our homes and immediately went into like he said explaining what it's going to cost the builder to build the house and sell it at today's price, which is not a concern. The only concern that we had that they agreed to was having a double garage, two-car garage. There would be no fourc car, fourc car, parking in the driveway. And we tried to get how many bedrooms, but it keep going to the 1300 square footage, which is fine, but how many bedrooms would it be? We're not the builders. We have no idea. We hadn't seen the plans. Uh so we uh asked about purchasing the lots ourselves. So myself and a few other homeowners wanted to get the adjacent lots. So when the signs first went out prior to the zoning meeting, I called in and the lots were 40,000. I said for the A lots. So after the meeting, we spoke with uh the realtor and Mr. Felipe. He said, "Give us a call. We'll work with you on the prices." So I called the meeting was on 13th. I called on the 15th. The A lots were now 45,000, but I can buy them at 40,000 each. And all these lots, these B lots are not a quarter of an acre. The A lots are a quarter of an acre. The be lots are like an eighth of an acre. And the ones that want a reszoning for the ones up front, they want to push them to the curb because there's a fence line for the next adjacent property right there. But the two on the left, they can build on them, but they have to grade the property to the rear and put up a retaining wall. That's the difference.

Uh what else we got here? Those are all yours again.

Okay. Thank you. Okay. In in conjunction to uh what Mr. Riddick just said, um like I explained last month, our neighborhood is nice and I'm passionate about my community. By building those homes in the uh beginning of our community, by putting them closer to the highway, that means that if they get more than one car in their parking lot, in their uh home, they'll be parking on the streets. We don't have any street parking in our neighborhood. None whatsoever. And then on last month um there was one of the chairman that asked Mr. Barry to provide an architecture plan of the house that they were going to build. We have not seen that as of yet. In my hand here I have a petition from we have 41 residents in our neighborhood. This petition is signed by 40 of the residents. So this is in opposition to the variance being allowed. And if you would allow me, I would read the uh the letter to you, please.

It says, "Dear members of Richmond County zone zoning boarding appeal, we the undersigned property owners and resident of Spring Creek Village respectfully submit this letter in strong opposition to the variance requested submitted by Mr. Phil Felipe. I don't know how to pronounce your name, Felipe. your last name regarding the proposed construction of a new homes um at 30002 3017 and 3019 with the setback. The application is requesting a variance setback of 25 ft to 10 ft and 13 ft and 17 ft from the street. The proposed homes would not be in keeping with the the destiny the destiny destiny

density thank you the density or lot size of existing homes in our neighborhood. Approval of this variance would set a a precedence over overdeveloping and could enroll the unique characteristic and design of our car our community as well as causing parking issue in the main streets. Granting these varants would undermine the intent of the existing zoning law designed to prevent the character, safety, and uniformity of our community. We are concerned that this change may negatively impact the construction or will or who will be constructing these new dwellings. For these reason, the Spring Creek Village homeowners and the resident respectfully urged the committee to design deny the variance request. Thank you for your consideration. the Spring Creek Village HOA and members and to to uh clarify about um Mr. Felipe. Ever since I moved into the community, I've had a good report with Mr. Felipe. So, it's not against Mr. Felipe. It's just keeping our our community uniformed. And that is all that I have to say. And I hope I didn't step out of line.

If you wouldn't mind just handing that um petition over, please. Thank you so much. I have I have a copy. Thank you. lot sizes. And this is and this is also a copy of the lot sizes that uh we received from the meeting on last week. All right. Thank you so much. Let me just start it at one end and move it all the way down. Miss Williams, I see your hand raised. Uh could you all come back up? I I have a question because I want to clarify this because we we don't have the petition yet. How many residents actually signed the petition homes? 40. 40. And how many homes do you have in there? 41. 41. So you have 40 out of 41. That's in opposition. In opposition. That is correct.

Okay. Thank you. Can I get a little clarification on that? Sorry. Um is is that you're only allowing one signature per home or is that one homeowner? One per home. One homeowner per Thank you. I just wanted to clarify that. All right. I'm going to work my way down. Mr. Pascal, wait. Go ahead. I'm sorry, Mr. Felipe. Go ahead. Uh no no I just wanted to make a comment. Well number one uh Brad Mary Blancher and Koon are representing me to sell the lot. Okay so

we don't have a contract to buy the lots. We have pres have presented a lot to several builders. The comments have been made by several of these builders that because of the configuration of these three lots they would not be able to build a lot a large home on those three lots. So the other option will be to build a smaller home which will be 1300 square feet which a smaller home which is a minimum obviously and all the lots by the way are 10,000 square feet or more. Uh so the only challenge with that by building a smaller home uh they will not match the size and configuration of the other home currently in the subdivision. So that's why we were requesting the v the varants varants accepted. Yes, we can then present that back to those to those builders and tell them yes now you can be uh you can build a bigger home but uh if the variance is not accepted you know the two choice I'm left with is the the builders are not buying those lots and then I will have to decide what to do with it or uh they are buying the lot but they will they will have to build a smaller home and that's what they do not want and I don't understand why there is so much opposition against it. Yeah.

Thank you Mr. Pasel. That ties in to my question. Under y'all covenant, you wouldn't mind getting a little closer to the Okay. Under under y'all covenant, do y'all want 1300 or do y'all want 1600? That's under y'all covenant. Now, now initially they were talking with the bares 1,600 foot. A three-bedroom home in our community is still a tiny home. And those two lots up front when you come in on the right, they're about from here to that wall to that wall. That's not a house. If you can go back to the podium so we can hear you. I I understand what you what you are saying, but under y'all covenant and that's what we was trying to get straight last month. Understand that too.

So we now we now that we have that under y'all covenant, do y'all want 1300 or do y'all want 1600? That's that's the only question that we have right now. A bill. We we would like to have 1,600 with a twocar garage. Mr. R, come back. Don't go away. with with two-car garage attached in addition to the 1600. Well, because that is the uniformity of the of the community already. Well, based on y'all covenant, that's all we have, right? So, we got that's that's what we we got to vote on 1300 or 1600.

Understood. And and can I uh caveat on something um that was said earlier that um I forgot to mention when we had the meeting on last week um and we were discussing the variance um and I didn't have a good understanding of the variance. So I asked for the the variance to be explained to me and the response after I got an understanding was if y'all don't vote on the variance we still going to bill. So my question was, so why are we having this discussion?

I think what Mr. Pascal was trying to indicate is in order to if we vote for the variance, you get a house that conforms more so to your covenants than if we don't vote for it. Because if we don't for vote for it, they're going to have to build a 1300, which they don't need a variance for from us. So it's going to be less likely to match your neighborhood aesthetics. Mr. Turner. Uh Mr. Chair, this question is for the applicant. So, uh, the information we have here on the DAS is that obviously there's there's there's the three lots for the variances, but there's a total of 14 lots under consideration.

So, is there any possible way for you to se separate the parcels that are in the applications from the remaining or is this in y'all's mind kind of what we do here impacts the entire project? No, no. It's strictly to the to it's restricted to those three lots. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, you would proceed with selling and having someone develop those other lots regardless of what we do here. Yeah. The lots are for sale. We we do not have a buyer yet. And again, it will be very difficult for us to control a builder and to tell a builder you have to build a house with four bedroom, five bedrooms. We have no control of that. Thank you, Mr.

We can control the aesthetic of it. We we have a you know I'm part of the architectural review but that's the only thing we can do. We cannot tell people you know if they want to build a threebedroom three bath and there already several home like that in that neighborhood. Thank you very much Mr. Chivers. Uh thank you very much. Uh my question is to the developer. Um, you have a total of 14 lots

and out of those 14 lots there are three that definitely need the variance and you're saying that with the variance and I'm just trying to understand this. You can build a 1600 square ft home with the double car garage. Does that include the double car garage that 1600 square ft? If the variance is approved, if the variance is approved, builder gets in there. No, at that point in time, but to promise you a two-car garage right now, I can't do it because I don't know what area we have to work with. So, but

you're asking for we went with the 1300 square feet. Yeah, I I know the 1300 is on this on on Yeah, that that that does put another caveat in it. All right. So, you will know once you get the variance and get a builder in there, then you will be able to determine the square footage and whether or you'll be able to determine you'll be able to do a double car garage with the square footage. Is that what you're saying? You have to have the variance in order to make that determination.

If we have the variance, most likely a builder that will go in will try to build a bigger home. uh but because of the covenants uh the minimum they have to build is 1300 ft² we cannot change that if they want to build a 1350 square foot home can at the end of the day that's that's their call but I would think like if they want to be competitive with the rest of the neighborhood they will have to build a bigger home they will have to build again the twocar garage um you know again I have no I I cannot guarantee I cannot really force a builder to build a to build a home with a toka garage. I need to be transparent and honest about that, you know. So,

okay. And you do understand the sentiment that they do have in reference to the fact that the smaller homes will affect the value of their property. Have you ever thought about just um like the gentleman say selling it to them and they conversation about that? You know, they were again to their benefit they were buying at the right time. uh so the you know what they have in their home they have built a lot of equity through the years because you know today the cost of building doubled so I think no it in my opinion it is not going to affect the value of their home it would affect the value of their home if somebody would come in and put a bigger home that what they have at a lower price and that is never going to be the case

no they're not going to do that put a bigger home at a lower price you and I understand that let me just ask you this have you ever thought about um just possibly getting with them seeing if they can buy it and then use that area as green space. Absolutely. Actually I have instructed because we just received a contract from uh from one of the res from one of the resident there and I have instructed as of this weekend Brad Mary I and I have told him that when we met last week I told him I will be you know there is a retail price and a wholesale price. Obviously, if we sell to a builder, we'll sell at a wholesale price. If we sell to individuals who want to walk in and buy a lot, that will be the retail price.

But I have agreed and I have I told them I would give them a discount. Okay. Okay. Because again, those smaller lot if they are willing to buy them, that will add to their property value by adding more more square footage to their lot. and I have instructed that of this weekend uh to Brad to tell him yes I've agreed to give them a discount and we would give them a discount of 20% on the on the what we call the bill lot and the least desirable lot because of the configuration and 15% on the larger lot so okay that contract and I have it in writing by the way so they can Okay well okay we're getting somewhere thank you thank you for sharing that

shivers we do have a few people in the list you mind if I share Oh, I don't. Yes, absolutely. Thank you. I'm going to go to Miss Williams if you don't mind. And then Mr. Bringham afterwards and Mr. Row, I believe. Well, hold on. We're going to start with Mr. We're going We're going to start with Miss Williams. She was in line. Well, I've been up there a long time. The point I am trying to say is what come before this board of the sides of the house is not before not before this board. So, we're dabbing into issues and things not gerine to what we will be deciding. attorney. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. Miss Williams, did you

Okay. So, does Mr. Ro want to make a motion then? I I'll come out of Well, before we do that, Mr. Bringham also has I'll make a motion to deny. Okay. Uh motion on the floor. He got a motion on the floor. So, go ahead. Anybody got a second? There's a motion to deny. We haven't heard staff. I second the motion. All right. We've got a second for that motion. We're going to vote on that motion to deny. Chairman, I still think we need discussion. There's a motion on the floor. I think a motion can be discussed if I'm wrong, Miss Buring point for your vote. Well, we attorney, is that correct? It's on It's on the chairman.

Yeah. So, we do have more discussion. Mr. Bringham had a question beforehand. There is a motion and a second and we will vote on it. But first, we're going to hear discussion. Go ahead, Mr. Bram. Ma'am, I'm sorry I forgot your name. I apologize. It's okay. It's Kim. Hey, Kim. Um, from what I understanding that you're asking is that we turn the applicant down. That is correct.

And if we turn that applicant down, they only have to build a,300 ft house. can we cannot tell them that they got to build a 1,600T house. We can't tell them that they got to build a 2,000 square foot house. It's it's all about deal with it whether or not we want a larger house or a smaller house. And from what and my phone blew up yesterday, so I appreciate it. I I'm passionate about my neighborhood as you are about yours. Absolutely.

But from what I understood, you were asking you were asking for larger construction. What what I'm asking for, Mr. Bighgam, I'm asking for the homes that are going to be built in the neighborhood to be in conform with the homes that we already have. That's all I'm asking for. And out of the 14 lots that he has

and he said there is only three that need variance if he's counting the two at let me get my notes together 207 and 2019 I believe or 30 one9 let me get my notes okay if he's asking for if he's um mentioning the two at 3017 and 3019 then he needs to mention the ones at 30002 30004 and 30006 because Those are the three that when you first come in the neighborhood and they're all the same size. So if you're doing a variance for one, then you need to do a variance for the other two as well. Ma'am, we can only deal with the three that we have applicants for. Understood. We we can't deal with he said those were the only

He said those were the only three that needed variance and that's why I was addressing that, sir. Okay, that's fine. That's your opinion. But yeah, Mr. Mr. Chairman, I I I was not finished and I'm trying to decide how to vote cuz I want to vote with the neighborhood, but I don't but I want to vote with them for what they want, not what they're asking for. I was merely going to suggest that this is a discussion and I was going to see if anybody else had anything to contribute. But but for the sake of clarity well can I I haven't asked anything of the petitioner

go ahead and I want you to restate plainly that you you're willing to sell these lots to the people. I think that's the easiest solution. If you don't sell them to them you're going to build a minimum of 1300 square foot lot and you can't build a bigger house without a variance. Okay, I think I understand the issue. I think I know how I want to vote. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, we do have a motion and we have a second. I'm going to turn to legal for their points. Go ahead. I I just want to say we can't make him sell his property any of his property to the owner. We can't even put that up. That's not our business. Correct. It's

the motion is just to deny the variance as stated and the variance is to reduce a front yard setback from 25 ft to 17 ft on this specific case. What I'd like to know before we vote from Kevin or legal is that all three of these lots are going to be treated in the same way by this board. Are we able to vote on them all congruently or do we need to separate them and vote on all three? Separate all three. So I want the board to keep that in mind. The motion is to deny. There is a second and we are going to do a roll call vote right now. All right. So, board member A. Williams, how do you vote on the deny? Deny. Okay. Board member Pascal, abstain. Mhm. Board member Morton,

deny. Board member R. Deny. Okay. Board member E. Williams, deny. Board member Forest, deny. Board member Chivers, deny. Turner, I'm sorry. I need to clarify. Or if I say deny, am I voting yes to deny? Not in the affirm. Not in the affirmative of the motion. You're just taking that straight as a denial. As denial. So, no, I don't vote. I'm not in support of the denial. Gotcha. And board member Bighgam. That was my question, too, because in my my language, a denial of the motion is a vote against.

Yes. I'm not. Do you deny? So you get so no to deny. You don't want to deny the petition. I'm voting for whatever adoption is denied. Okay. And board member Maestro. Deni. Okay. So BZA 2536 has been denied. All right. So that one's been um denied. We're going to go ahead and read into record the next two. Um, we won't be taking public comment on those because we're already finished with that and we'll just go ahead and vote on those. Please. Okay. Okay. Y'all are welcome to have a seat.

Thank you. All right. BZA-25-37 petition by Bradford Mary on behalf of LMP Properties LLC requesting a variance from section 8-8A of the comprehension zoning ordinance to reduce the required front yard setbacks from 25 ft to 10 ft on the properties located at 317 Spring Creek Drive staff representation recommendation oh recommendations good read Hold on. 37. Yeah, I got it. But I just make sure I got it.

It's the same thing. All right. The the planning development staff recommends denial of the variance request as it does not meet all criteria for granting variance established in section 33 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance as amended. Thank you. We'll take a motion for the denial. Motion to deny. Motion for denial. Second. We have a second. All in favor of a denial by show of hands. All in opposition to the denial. The motion passes to deny. We'll move to the Did you abstain? Yes. Sorry. Mr. Pascal abstains. We'll take the next one, please.

Sure. Petition by, excuse me, BCA-25-38. A petition by Bradford Mary on behalf of LMP Properties LLC requesting a variance from section 8-8A of the comprehend zoning ordinance to reduce the required front yard setbacks from 25 ft to 13 ft on a property located at 319 Spring Creek Drive. Motion to deny. There's a motion. Second.

There's a second. All by show of hands. All those motion or uh voting to deny this application. All those voting to approve the or to not deny the application and all those in abstension. All right. We'll take the next item on the list, please. Okay. Petition by BZA-25-39. A petition by William Welsh requesting a variance from section 8-4E of the comprehensive zoning ordinance to increase the maximum accessory building square foot area from 692 square ft to600 ft² on the property located at 3040 Fox Spring Road. Staff represent.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Um Todd Kennedy here from the planning and development staff here to present this case. Variance request involves a a 0.53 acre property currently zone R1 one family residential and is in the Fox Springs Heights subdivision of the Forest Hill/ Fox Spring Heights neighborhood. The applicant is seeking a variance to allow for the construction of a 1600 ft detached garage behind the house to store vehicles as um as the house uh only has a onecar garage. The findings are as follows. And the findings are 1 through nine. Start off with the first one. The lot averages approximately 102 ft and 191 ft deep. Number two, the property currently has one car attached garage. Number three, the the square footage for 0.53 acres uh calculates to approximately 23,86 ft. Therefore, the lot is larger than 10,000 square feet. Number four, section 8-4E of the comprehensive zoning ordinance states that for the lots of 10,000 square feet or larger, the maximum size for an accessory building is greater than um is the greater of 500 square ft or 3% or larger. The maximum square feet, let's see, wait, I show went up. Which whichever is greater 3% uh of the uh 0.53 acre lot is 692 square ft. Therefore, uh 692 uh square feet is the maximum size for the accessory building allowed on the property as 692 square feet is greater than uh than a 500 ft. Number five, the proposed detach uh garage addition exceeds the allowed 692 square foot maximum accessory building um floor area by 98 square ft, which is approximately

131% increase in size. Number six, approval of this request would not exceed the maximum 30% allowable a lot coverage uh in R1 zoning. Number seven, the subject property does not feature any wetlands and is not situated within a special flood hazard area. Number eight, the applicant has stated due to Hurricane Helen, previous accessory buildings located on the property have been removed. Number nine, at the time of completion of this report, no inquiries uh inquiries were received by staff concerning this variance application. Mr. Mr. Chair, members of the board, that concludes staff's presentation. U myself or the staff and the applicant are here to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Mr. Kennedy. I appreciate that. Mr. Welsh, if you are present, I'll ask you to address the podium. State your name and address for the record. My name is Bill Welsh. Um I live at 3040 Fox Spring Road, Augusta 3099.

Thank you, Mr. Welsh. You're welcome to add anything you'd like. You have 10 minutes. Um, this I've lived in this uh house for uh since 20 since 2000. So, it' be uh 25 years. Um, I've always I've got a I've got two boats and an antique car that I try to keep protected and covered. um never really had the space to do this because of all the trees that we had before the storm, but I lost all of my trees in the storm, which has provided this big open desert in my backyard. And um quite frankly, I wanted to do this for a long time, but my wife would never let me because she didn't want to let me get rid of the trees, but now we have no choice. So um we're trying to, you know, take a bad situation and turn it into good. Um, I do have a boat that's 24 feet in length. When you add the trailer on and the engine on it, it's I need I require about 35 ft in order to put it in a garage. That's why I'm asking for the size of the garage. Um, I do know there's the var the setbacks. I would be able to I think it's a 10-ft setback on those, which I would adhere to on both sides. Um, I do have a a picture of what it would look like if anybody would like to see that. This would not be a metal building. It would be a stick building with a concrete slab and it would be uh built out of like hardy siding. Um, it would be a quality building.

All right. Thank you. If you wouldn't mind just hanging out for a minute. Do we have any opposition present for today's application? All right. Seeing non staff, did we receive any opposition? I'm assuming none. All right. Hearing that there's none, I'm going to open it up to the board for any questions that they may have. Mr. Chairman, can you pass the pictures in the U for the records? Yes, absolutely. Kevin, do you mind firing up the

All right. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Trou would like staff's recommendation, please. The planning development staff recommends denial of the variance request as it does not meet all criteria established in section 33 of the comprehended zone ordinance of the gust of Georgia as amended. Should the board move to approve the applicant request staff recommend the following conditions. Number one, allow the for the installation of 1600 foot accessory building on the property. Number two, any existing accessory buildings located on the property shall be removed prior to commencement of the construction for the new accessory building. Number three, the applicant acknowledged section 8-4F of the comprehensive zoning order which outlines the following. Accessory building will not be designed and used for residential purpose. Accessory building will not contain sleeping or cooking facilities. Accessory building may not be used to conduct home occup occupation or serve as a home office. And lastly, if a separate electrical service is determined, then an additional variance will be required. That concludes that.

Are you agreeable to those conditions, should we motion motion to approve? Yes, sir. All right. So, the applicant has indicated that. Do we have any questions? Seeing none, I'll make a motion to approve. Does somebody have a question? Second. We got a motion from Mr. for a approval subject to the conditions

from Mr. Trlock and then Mr. Rose second it but so did Mr. Bringham. So uh you can choose whoever you like on that one. Any further questions? Seeing none. Show of hands for the motion for approval with the conditions as stated. That is unanimous. All right, Mr. Welsh. Thank you very much. You'll have your letter in the mail. That Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We'll move right along to the next one, please.

All right. BZA-2025-40. A petition by Ronald Jones requesting a variance from section E8-4E of the comprehensive zoning ordinance to increase the maximum accessory building square foot areas from 307 ft to 700 ft on the property located at 2010 Grand Boulevard. Staff represent.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Basser, Mr. Chair, members of the board, once again, Todd Kennedy from Planning and Development staff here to present this. This variance request involves a 0.17 acre property zone R1A, one family residential in the Turpin Hill neighborhood. The applicant is seeking a variance to allow for the construction of a 720 ft detached garage behind the house to replace an existing carport and other accessory buildings to store vehicles and belongings. The findings, they're 1 through nine, and they are as follows. Number one, the lot is approximately 50 ft wide and 150 ft deep. Number two, the lot in this block of the Grand Boulevard are all approximately the same dimensions. Number three, the property currently has a carport and other accessory buildings, but the applicant wants to replace all of them with the proposed detached garage. Number four, the square footage for 0.17 acre calculates to approximately 7,45 square feet and therefore the lot is under 10,000 square ft. Number five, section 8-4E of the comprehensive zoning ordinance states that for the lots under 10,000 square ft, the maximum size of an accessory building is 5% of the lot area. 5% of the uh 0.17 acre uh lot is 370 square feet. Therefore, 370 square feet is the maximum size for accessory building allowed on the property. Number six, the proposed detached garage uh addition exceeds 370 square ft maximum accessory um accessory gross floor area by 350 ft, which is approximately a 98% increase in size. Number seven, approval of this request would not exceed the maximum 30% allowable lot coverage in the R1A zoning. Number eight, the prop

uh the property does not feature any wetlands and is not situated within a special flood hazard area. And number nine, at the time of the completion of this report, no in uh inquiries were received by staff concerning this variance application. Mr. Chair, that concludes my presentation. Uh myself, staff, and the applicant are here to answer any questions. Thank you very much, Mr. Kennedy. Is the applicant, Mr. Ronald Jones, present? Mr. Jones, if you wouldn't mind, just at this podium. Yes, sir. And if you will, Mr. Jones, just state your name and address for the record.

My name is Ronald Jones. I live at 2010 Grand Boulevard, Augusta, Georgia. Mr. Jones, thank you for being here today. you have 10 minutes to add anything you may like.

Well, this right here is part of um a goal. I um I take care of elderly people in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'm home four days a week. I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The reason why I do that because nobody else wants to work on the weekends. So, I um I have a 1963 twodoor hard top Buick that I bought from one of my clients that um he passed away years ago. And um I want to protect it. And um I'm a tinkerer. I like to tinker inside. The way it's set up now, I have to follow the sun. If the sun over here, I got to work on it over here because it's getting cold, right? If it's too hot, then I got to work over here in the shade. If I had my shop,

I could work anytime. Mhm. I could go out there, man. I don't run the streets. I just like to be by myself in my shop. That's That's my goal. Wow. Please. Every time I get close to it, something happens. I spent I have to spend the money on something else. This time I got the money and it's dependent on y'all. Thank you very much. Uh, real quick, do we have any opposition present? Seeing none, do we get any letters of opposition? Hearing none, we'll go ahead and take staff recommendation, please.

All right. The planning development of staff recommends denial of the variance request as it does not meet all criteria established in section 33 of the comprehensive zoning ordinance of Augusta Georgia as amended. Should the board approve the applicant request, staff recommends the following condition. Number one, allow for the installation of a 720 ft accessory building on the property. Number two, any existing accessory buildings located on the property shall be removed prior to commencement of the construction for the new accessory building. Number three, the applicant an analogy section 8-4F of the comprehensive zoning ordinance which outlines the following. Accessory building will not be designed and used for residential purpose. Accessory building will not contain sleeping or cooking facility. Access building may not be used to conduct home occupation or serve as a home office. If a separate electrical service is determined, an additional variance will be required. That concludes staff's recommendation.

Mr. Mr. Jones, do you agree to those conditions as stated? Should we motion to approve? Yes, sir. All right. Motion to approve. Second staff recommendation. Second. All right. We're all eager. All right. We have a motion to approve with staff's recommendation. And we have a second. And we're going to do a show of hands. All in favor to approve. The motion is stated. All right. Seeing no oppositions, Mr. Jones, you have your approval today. Thank you so much for coming in. Before we dismiss, is there anything from legal? Oh, you got to do that better. Come on. Sam Miller style. All right, that adjourns our meeting today. Thank you.