Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

restaurants USA. I'm good. I'm ready.

I'm good. Yeah. All right. Well, we were waiting on one person who I think is on her way, but we will go ahead and start. And with that, I'll call to order the Sandy Springs Planning Commission meeting for Wednesday, October 22nd, and turn it over for announcements to Sam.

Thank you, chair. Good evening, Mr. Chair, vice chair, and members of the planning commission. Today is October the 22nd, 2025. Please confir confirm your attendance as I call your name. Chairman Ree Haggard, I'm here. Vice Chair Andy Porter, here. Commissioner Robin Conklin here. Commissioner Karen Talovich here. Commissioner Sheron Clemens here. Commissioner Elizabeth Kelly here.

Commissioner Andrea Settles and she'll be in shortly here. Your attendance has been confirmed and will be included in the official meeting minutes. Now I will read um the announcements regarding the decorum and procedures of the planning commission meeting. The planning commission's duty is to review and provide recommendations on applications of legislative reviews, including text amendments, comprehensive plan plans, character area map amendments, zoning map amendments, reszonings, and conditional use permits. The petitions will be heard in the sequence listed on the posted agenda. Following are some of the rules and procedures for this part of the meeting. The applicant and all those speaking in support of the application will be allowed a total of 10 minutes to present their petition. The applicant uh may choose to save some of of the time for rebuttal following the presentation by the opposition. The opposition will be allowed a total of 10 minutes to present its position. Since the burden of proof is upon the applicant, the applicant will be allowed to make closing remarks provided time remains from the original allotted time. Staff will keep track of the time for both sides. Those called to speak will be taken in the order that the public comment cards were received by the planning and zoning clerk prior to the beginning of tonight's meeting. All speakers will identify themselves by name, address, and if applicable, organization um before beginning their presentation. Demonstration of any sort within the chamber is prohibited. So, please refrain from any applause, cheering, booing, outburst, or dialogue when the person is speaking. Please show the same respect to the person speaking that you will expect to receive. The applicant shall not submit materials to the planning commission during the

meeting. All materials should be submitted to the community development department at least 30 days prior to the scheduling meeting for inclusion in the normal distribution of the package packages to the commission. Thank you, chair. Uh thank you. And will you please uh for the record note that commissioner settles is present. Thank you, chair. Noted. Um we have a meeting agenda that um includes one case tonight which is 6344 Rosville Road. Um so uh agenda looks fine. Uh someone make a motion to approve the agenda. Move to approve the agenda.

Miss Trialovich has made it second by Miss Settles. All in favor? I so moved. So agenda is approved. I also have meeting minutes from uh our last meeting and I see that some name uh corrections were made. I appreciate that. Uh and everything in that looks accurate to me. So with that, someone a motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting which was uh what was that? August 20th. Yeah. move that we approve the minutes from the August. Thank you, Miss Kelly. A second. Second. Second. All in favor?

I.

So moved. All right. So with that, uh we will call the first case. Before we do, um, uh, I was approached by, um, staff that I understand that, um, the applicant had a presentation, uh, and based on its, uh, almost identical nature, it seems, or similarity to staff's uh, presentation, I felt that it was appropriate for uh, them to uh, be able to make that presentation. However, let me make clear to you when you do come before the mayor and city council, they're not so uh welcoming on that. So, make sure that you've crossed your tees and dotted your eyes uh in advance as Sam pointed out the the timelines that are before that. Okay. All right. So, Sam, let's call that first case. Thank you, chair.

I know we'll find this earthshattering, but I'm struggling with my computer right here. I'll be right there. Hold on. Thanks, Sam. Appreciate it. All right, we'll have to pause. The suspension will build. Oh, okay. Speaking about this for like three years. It strikes me, Chris. All right, Sam.

Thank you, chair. 2025006 U-25-2 6344 Roswell Road. Request for a conditional use permit to allow for a drive-thru facility in the CX3 zoning district for a bank. Presented by Lquita Williams, our planner 2.

All right. Thank you, Sam. Good evening, commissioners and members of the public. Welcome to the October 22nd, 2025 plan of commission public hearing. Tonight, I will be introducing conditional use permit U252 at 6344 Roswell Road to allow for a drive-through facility at a former bank building in the CX3 zoning district. Staff's recommendation is approval with conditions. Next slide. Um the character area for this property is commercial mixuse and the zoning is CX3 for three stories maximum height. On the area image to the far right, you can see the parcel outlined in green. The existing parcel is developed as a neighborhood shopping plaza anchored by the Aldi grocery store along with a mix of retail tenants including a healthcare clinic, a drive-through bank building, and a hardware store. The drive-thru facility, well, the part the entire parcel is approximately 7 7.75 acres in zone CX3. The drive-thru facility is approximately 4,330 square feet and has been vacant for several years. There is a BP gas station to the north, a CVS to the south, and the Whispering Pines neighborhood to the west. Across Roswell Road is another shopping center in the Gddard Preschool. The proposed development includes renovating the existing bank building in the accessory drive-through facility to operate a bank. The proposal includes adding a 6' wide crosswalk and amenity

space, ADA ramps, and a raised landscape island. For this request, staff reviewed the proposal against the development code, basic use standard, and the conditional use permit criteria. While a bank is permitted is a permitted use in the CX zoning district, a drive-through facility requires a conditional use permit. staff finds that the proposed use is compatible with adjacent uses within the CX district and complies with applicable development code standards with minimum anticipated impact on city services. So with that, staff recommends approval of U25-2 with um a condition that construction and site improvements be substantially similar to the site plan received to the Department of Community Development. Thanks.

Thank you very much. Uh with that, let's uh open the uh public hearing portion for this case and hear from the applicant.

Good evening. I'm Danny Blumenthal with Gaskins Lacro, 1266 Powder Springs Road in Marietta, Georgia. Um, I don't need to reiterate what uh, Miss Williams just uh, explained to all of you and showed you in her presentation. Um, I just wanted to say that we appreciate staff's recommendation of approval. We're in agreement with the conditions by planning staff and by the city engineer. Um, and I'm here as well as some representatives from regency centers. Uh, if you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them. Thank you. Are you going to make that presentation, Danny, or are we not going to hear that?

Oh, I'm sorry. I was saying that I didn't need to reiterate because our as as you noted our we hadn't seen their presentation before. Um, but Okay, great. Yeah. Don't want to waste your time. Well, we appreciate that. Thank you. Uh, Sam, do we have any comment cards? No, not at this time, Chair. Well, all right then. Well, that was quick. Um, thank you. Uh, with that, I will, uh, close the, uh, public hearing for this case. Uh, it's been presented to us with staff recommending approval. Um, before we talk about it, uh, a motion. Uh, Miss Settles,

I make a motion to approve case 202 2025006 U25-2 6344 Roswell Road requested conditional use permit to allow for a drive-through facility in the CX zoning district for the bank. A motion to approve with the conditions uh as stated by staff is made by Miss Settles. We have a second. Second by Miss Kelly. Uh any questions? Any discussion? I have I have some. Please, Mr. Porter.

Um the site plan that's referenced in the package. Have have all the changes been and that's part of the recommendations. Have the city engineers comments been applied to that site plan? Yes, they have. Okay. Okay, that that's fine. That's I just wanted to make sure because it was a had like what nine different comments and they're all addressed. Yes. All right. Okay. Anyone else?

No, that was my question. Thank you, Andy. Uh the only question I had was um the approval as it stands right now is based on with with the site plan but it doesn't specify correct that specifically that it must be a bank. Is that correct? Yeah. And the um the request on the last slide that's how the overbage would be. Okay. We'll put that up there, will you? Yeah. To allow for a drive-through facility at a bank.

At a bank at that this this is for this bank. So, it it must be a bank. Okay. I wanted to make sure because it it was a bank. I didn't know if you were referencing that. That's what it had been. You know, technically it could be any other use as well. still that's allowed by right but the the particular use if they want to do that this is the process they would have 12 months to utilize okay can I ask another question uh go ahead I'm sorry that prompted a question if they choose not to proceed does that mean another bank or another facility can come in and the drive-through has been approved or do we start over

well I was just saying that if they do a bank, they have a a time frame to to operate as a bank before they would kind of lose um the condition. I believe um 12 months is usually unless the use permit would run with the land in some form. But either way, the what I was getting at was that any use that is allowed by rights still allowed. It doesn't have to be a bank per se. So, if they change plans, they could still go with anything that's allowed, like a restaurant or something. So, all we're doing here is approving the fact that they're getting a drive-thru, basically. Yeah.

Okay. And if they choose to change their plan and get something else, the drive-thru is still is still the conditional use is still effective. If they decide to put a restaurant in and use the drive-thru, no. So, to your point, yes, a bank drive-thru is the type of drive-thru that would be allowed. And then at the end of 12 months, if they don't do anything, they can whatever whatever happens to that application, but then we start over again and look at another applicant.

Yeah, you guys hear me? Okay, there you go. Yeah. I mean, the way the condition is worded, it it's it's based it's conditioned upon the site plan that's titled a bank. Doesn't say it has to be a bank. So, all you're doing tonight is approving a cup for drive-thru essentially in this district. So any other use that can meet the requirements of that site plan is allowed to go by this cup approval if it goes through. Um to my not a conditional use permit, it's it's just like a reszoning. It's a legislative approval. It runs with the property until it's changed. So, um,

so disregard my comment about 12 months, right? It it it it'll be there until, but because we've had because we've changed code about drive-thrus and we're approving potentially this one as a drive-thru for a bank, that would still continue to go with the property or they'd have to come back to us for another drive-through approval if something changes. Yeah. If something changes, if somebody cannot meet that site plan,

they'll have to come back. If the code has changed and nobody's done anything out there, say the code changes and and the code as it's written in the future, nobody can meet that site plan, then they'd have to come back. But as long as the code permits that site plan, anybody who can meet it will have a cup. Am I Are you understanding that? understand.

I guess what I'm what I'm questioning is if this individual does not build a bank, okay, and run a bank and they choose to sell it, as we've had other properties do before, they've gotten approvals for things, then they've never developed. We've got right now it's a requirement that you get a drive-thru approved. So, if they don't do what they're going to do, does that negate their approval of a drive-thru? Or could they sell this property to somebody else and have it fit the site plan perfectly, but it's not them? They just get to do a drive-through over any period of time now.

Yeah. Long as long as they can uh plan meet that condition. Yes, ma'am. Yep. Okay. Then that can I well let me let me clarify something here because that's what I brought up the my initial question was at a it says at a bank doesn't say at a building says at a bank that is the the condition of that that it must be a bank.

Yeah the I think it says that's the title of the site plan. Is that right? Is that the just the title of it? Well, that's what I that was the clarification I asked for originally and was told that yes, that's in the title that it's it allows a drive-thru facility at a bank. That's bookend. Drive-through facility at a bank. So, if they sold it and somebody came in and said, "We want to do a coffee shop." Well, that's not at a bank. Yeah. It's not It's not a bank.

Yeah. Uh I mean that that might present problems and and that that'd be up for planning to interpret when they come back u when whoever comes back. But uh as far as just from a land use perspective goes uh you know it it appears to be conditioned just to a site plan that is titled bank cup and that and I'm not saying that you know it might staff might say well hey this this is tied to a bank cup but uh I don't know how how do that Matt if it makes it easier I mean you guys just recommend an additional clarifying condition that says This must be a bank. Yeah, you can certainly recommend a condition to council,

but he's right. I mean, certainly planning would only allow for someone to come in with a bank with the drive-thru based on because our recommendation is based on the traffic flow of a bank drive-thru versus a restaurant. Okay. Fast food. All right. Any other point, comments, questions?

I have a question. Um, clarifying, when we initially had the conversation about this, it was my understanding it was a bank previously with a drive-thru and that the reason we were looking at this again um to approve the drive-thru was because that time frame something expired. So, can you help us understand what expired? Is there potentially another expiration date to where if this project does not go through there, we would have another applicant going through the same process if they were also putting a bank in the same location? Yeah, that's a good question and it allows me to explain where I got mixed up earlier is that previously this was just a buy right thing that the that the bank could exist in older code versions and in today's code version you come for this cup and you get this cup to Williams point it becomes part of the the property's entitlement specifically for this property for that exact site plan as we've recommended it that's how it would work so now it is kind kind of um memorialized to be what it is. It's no longer the legal nonconforming that it was, which had a time stamp on it of 12 months. You must, you know, you you can't stop running it for 12 months or you lose the non-conforming legal non-conforming status. So, it lost that. This is kind of getting that back, but now it's no longer non-conforming. It's conforming under a cup. And is this because of an update in the code?

Yeah, previously they didn't have so before the 2017 code. I'm not sure exactly what was allowed there, but I would assume at least before 2017, you could have a bank there by a right with a drive-thru. Sorry, the drive-through being the issue here. Um, in 2017 at least, the drive-thru component became legally non-conforming as it continued to operate as a bank with a drive-thru. And when it stopped doing that and it did that for more than 12 months, it no longer was conforming. So they have to go through the legal process, which is what we're doing here. Okay. Thank you.

Mhm. Um could could you put the site plan up on thing? This this computer system crashes every like three minutes and it's astoundingly frustrating. And it's not just Andy, by the way. I would take credit for the tablet. We have a knucklehead in the crowd for sure today.

Th this this parcel is part of the overall 7 point something acre piece, right? It I know we've relaxed parking restrictions, but this is is kind of an amazingly awkward site plan. There's going to be as people enter the drive-thru lanes, there's parking on either side. I drove through it before I came here and people parked for the various uh retail tenants across the way. So, they're going to be backing out and and people are being encouraged to park in this bank area by the sidewalks they're installing. It just seems this survived this long, Andy.

I I get it. And it it uh it passed muster for our engineers to be there were some improvements. um you know the the bulb out as you come in on the north entrance. You know, when you're doing something like this, you can't just knock it all down and start over. So, what you do is obviously just little incremental steps to help improve the flow as it is. It won't be perfect, but at the same time, you also I think we're all aware that bank traffic, bank drive-thru traffic is not necessarily the um it's not a big threat to kind of the the parking lot as much as maybe something like a restaurant's drive-thru would be a lot more of a queuing issue.

Okay. So, so just one more thing, parking. We're not requiring them to move the building forward. We're allowing parking to remain in the front of the building. Mhm. Flip flip them. Yeah, that's correct. Since they're not adding any square footage to the building, it kind of falls under a legal non-conforming status of its own.

Okay. Thank you. Um, from procedural standpoint, if she wants to revise her motion, do we need to do anything or just allow her to revise her motion? Yeah, she can revise her motion. Miss Settles, you said you wanted to revise your motion? I do. So, do I do the whole case over just I think you revise it to reflect.

Okay. So in case number 2025-00006 U25-26344 Rosal Road request I I approve for request for conditional use permit to allow for a drive-through facility in the CX3 zoning district specifically for a bank

with the staff conditions with staff condition as stated but making clear that it's specifically for a bank. Okay, we have a motion from Miss Settles. Uh second from Miss Clemens. Sorry, I've got a mental block now. Um and uh any additional discussion? Uh okay, call a vote. All in favor? Opposed? Was just Mr. Porter or did did you raise your hand as well?

Okay. Uh, the motion is approved. That was harder than I thought it was going to be. All right. Uh, great. Uh, ongoing business. I don't know what we've got. Michelle, you got I just got back. Well, welcome. Welcome back. Yes, that's ongoing business. I was in Trinidad and Belgium and where, but I just got back today. Okay. Uh, well, so do we, does anyone else know of ongoing business? So, um, do we have something for next month? Yes. Lake Forest. Lake Forest. I should figure out what month is next month. That's November. So, yes, we do have Lake Forest Drive resoning.

Okay. So, we do we we we plan to have a a meeting next month? Yes. All right. And then any new business? I guess not. What are we working on on a new code? zoning code, you mean? Yes. No. Um, not yet. Um, we did some updates a couple months ago, as you recall, some edits, cleanup type things. So, that's, um, has gone through, mayor and city council. And, um, we don't have a plan to do anything else just yet. Um, we are, of course, looking to launch the comprehensive plan next year. So, I don't know if that's what you were thinking.

Yeah. Comprehensive plan. Yeah. Yeah. My my only point is we had some brief discussion about we we seem to bring there seems to be a philosophical difference between drive-throughs in certain parts of the city and the ability to still get one via a cup. Mhm. And maybe we should just set certain zoning areas that just say it's it's allowable because it Yeah, we do have some zoning categories that it's allowed by, right?

I know we do, but we just seem it's it seems like a conflict every time. Um if if we're going to approve them all, why not just change the code? approved the last one. Yeah, there's been I I bet since since we've done the 2017 code, I bet there's been five approved. I mean, we approved What a Burger. Okay. But, you know, Waterburger was approved for it was already approved for a drive-thru. What we were approving was that they could be open 247. It had just like It had lost its grandfather. it had lost it. Exactly the question that you brought up earlier

which would be the case with the water burger building. It was also the case with uh what was that car place? Magic Mike's um that you know once it closed it could have somebody could have reopened it but time passed and now it's no longer grandfathered in. I think I think that was your 12 your 12 month. Gotcha. So um the council didn't approve it. That's right. You guys recommended it and council turned it down. Yeah. Right. Right. Still an option for consideration, I think, is what?

Right. I mean, it just seems um interesting to me that that when the code was formed in 2017, there seemed to be a philosophical idea that we don't want drive-throughs in the in certain areas. And the code was drafted to that effect. But now we seem to go we seem to staff recommends them and we we approve them. Well, there's a lot of them that you don't see that come through beforehand that never really make it here. Um and maybe that's the

that's Yeah, that's some of it is some of it really never makes it past the concept because well this that and the other and they they don't want to move forward. So now we do have sorry of the city that it's not allowed at all. That's right. by right or with conditional use. Oh, understood. City Springs. Yeah, understood. But, you know, um here's this one tonight. There's Fifth Fifth Third Bank 100 yards away.

Then the coffee company was going to come in somewhere right there. Um Waterburger. I mean, you can all but you can date all the way back to Bank of America, Chase, all of those places. They get them. And we we ought to in a way don't doesn't it seem like we're kind of wasting our time if put it in the law or change the law to align with people. The ones the banks over here none of those could have drive-throughs today. So that was before this code to your to your point. So it is preventing them from being more in the city center just because they're not allowed by code

just because we adopted the city center. But it we had restrictions on on drive-throughs back many many years ago. I mean well the first one was um um the Bank of America. It was CNS Bank back then. But be that way. I don't I don't want to take up everybody's I just threw it out there for a we can think through as we move forward. Are you saying more guidance on or or actually saying being very specific about this is the code and then it gives us more guidance on how to proceed. I I think I think our philosophy and our code are kind of going like this.

Gotcha. Thank you. Is what I think and and we ought to try see if it's better alignment. It cuts down on conflict. So anyway, enough soap box. Well, we we we rewrote when we rewrote the code and made updates, one of the reasons why all of those were done was to more streamline it. So, there were kind of fewer gray areas. It was more like yes, you can, no, you can't. And then if you if you really wanted to push the gray area, then you know, there were variances. There were conditional use permits. You really had to go through a process. But I know what you're I understand what you're saying.

Yeah. And like I mentioned to me and city council um during the water burger, we did lose a few drive-throughs over the years. Remember chick um Checkers is gone and the Wendy's that was here. No more drive-thru and there's a few up and down Rosal Road that can't return. So Miss Kelly, did you have something you want to say? You had your hand raised. That's why I was just saying thinking how can we um ensure that the message gets through to the second plan planning group that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Well, I think Michelle just recommend said she's going to bring it up. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Comprehensive plan process.

All right. Uh with that, we're the final item on the agenda was the adjournment. Um, someone got a motion there. Thank you, Sherman. Second, mcarin. All in favor? We go. We'rejourned. My computer is stuck. I guess coming up and so just came from the airport. I know. But you have one year

outside of that one year. You have to apply to the current. So this this one,

they got to put another place in within 12 months.