City Holds First Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting

The city of Peachtree Corners held its first Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on Wednesday hearing three requests for variances from Chase Bank.

The financial institution plans on building a branch on the corner of Peachtree Parkway and Peachtree Corners Circle.

All five members attended; Eric Christ, Amreeta Regmi, Wayne Knox, Marcia Brandes and Jim Blum.

Michelle Rothmeier, an attorney representing Chase Bank presented the three requests which involved the Peachtree Corners Overlay District.

1. Increase allowable parking spaces from 18 to 26 spaces.
2. Allow more than 20 percent of parking to be located in the front and side of the building.
3. Eliminate the requirement of a pitched roof requirement in an overlay district.

Diana Wheeler, the city's community development director provided an overview along with the city's recommendations on the three variance requests. Wheeler recommended that the first two variance requests be allowed. The additional parking was needed to accommodate adequate parking for customers and the 10-12 bank employees.

And she recommended that requirement to allow more parking on the front and side of the building to allow the bank to re-locate its drive-thru lanes behind the building would be an aesthetic benefit to the area.

On the third item she said: "The applicant wants a flat roof to put air-condition units on the roof. We didn't find a hardship on this variance request and do not recommend approval."

Commercial buildings that are 5,000 square feet or less are subject to adhere to the overlay requirements of a pitched roof unless hardship can be proven.

Rothmeier argued that locating the A/C units on the roof of the building "was a safety issue and also would eliminate theft."

"The pitched roof requirement is in (the overlay requirements) for a reason," said Knox, "and it's not to be taken lightly. Flat roofs often look like a campground or trailer park. Banks are particularly bad about this."

Rothmeier assured the board that the bank wanted to blend in with the surrounding architecture. "Chase wants to fit in. We don't want to look different from The Forum corridor," she said.

Brian Pelham, the project manager, offered additional reasons why the flat roof would work better for this location. "If we put a pitched roof in, we might create a sight issue," he said.

However, the board did not agree and the variance request for a flat roof was voted down 5-0.

The board did vote 5-0 in favor of the first two variance requests. An applicant has 30 days to appeal the board's decision to the Gwinnett Supreme Court.

Before adjourning its first meeting, the board selected Wayne Knox as its chairman and Eric Christ as the vice-chair.

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