To: Dunwoody City Council
Zoning Board of Appeals
Re: RZ 20-02 Rezoning of 5308, 5318, and 5328 Roberts Drive
The Board of Directors met virtually on Thursday, October 22 to discuss our position on the proposed rezoning. A quorum of the board voted unanimously to oppose the rezoning of these properties from R-100 to R-50. The DHA has stayed in contact with adjacent homeowners since our original position statement was issued and we felt it necessary to update our position.
A rezoning that close, to allow 15 homes to be built, requires several variances to be feasible. These variances will result in the development imposing on existing neighborhoods and diminishing the owners’ quality of life and risks damage to the current homes themselves.
A variance is requested that will increase the total impervious surface of the properties from 40% to 85%. We believe this change, if enacted will cause environmental damage to nearby neighborhoods in the form of water runoff and erosion.
Another variance is requested to reduce the rear setback of the homes to 20 feet. This short distance, and the elimination of undisturbed vegetation buffers (which were present in the original rezoning proposed by Rock River Realty in 2019) is an unreasonable imposition on the current homeowners.
The DHA is not opposed in principal to redevelopment or rezonings to accommodate new housing. We are all too aware that the definition of “quality residential life” is changing as our citizenry ages and home ownership turns over. With that said, the DHA will always demand that new developments be built in a way that is considerate of neighborhoods already present. We would like to suggest a compromise zoning of R-75 for these properties. The homes proposed by Peachland may still be built without variances and without encroaching on Dunwoody Knoll, Dunwoody Walk, and Fairfield.
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