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Article 20 — Administration and Enforcement, Chapter 20-3 — ADMINISTRATIVE VARIANCES

current as of 2025-12-16verified current · checked 2026-08-24Officialofficial source ↗10 sections · full chapter

§ 20-3-1

Authority

The Director of Community and Economic Development shall have the authority to grant or deny administrative variances from certain provisions of this Code as enumerated in this chapter where, in his or her opinion, the intent of this Code can be achieved and equal performance obtained by granting an administrative variance.

§ 20-3-2

Administrative Variances by the Director of Community and

Economic Development In addition to any other administrative variances specifically authorized by this Code, the following provisions of this Code may be administratively varied by the Director of Community and Economic Development, subject to the specific limitations of this section. Where this section omits specific reference to the Director of Community and Economic Development’s authority to grant an administrative variance, and such authority is clearly evident in a provision of this Code, the omission from this section shall not be construed as limiting the director's authority.

(a)Front building setback for a principal building, reduction not to exceed 7 feet.

(b)Side building setback for a principal building, reduction not to exceed 3 feet.

(c)Rear building setback for a principal building, reduction not to exceed 5 feet.

(d)Setback for an accessory building, reduction not to exceed 2 feet.

(e)Minimum lot width, reduction not to exceed 5 feet.

(f)Maximum building coverage, maximum impervious surface coverage, not to exceed 5% above the applicable maximum. This provision shall not apply in the North Oconee Water Supply Watershed Overlay.

(g)Maximum height of a building, not to exceed 5 feet above the applicable maximum.

This provision shall not apply to height limits imposed in the airport overlay zones.

(h)Minimum open space, reduction of not more than 10% of total minimum required landscaped open space. For example, a minimum open space requirement of 20% of the lot cannot be reduced administratively below 10% by the Director.

(i)Landscape strip minimum widths, reduction not to exceed 20% of the minimum required width. For example, if the minimum landscape strip width is 10 feet, the Director may authorize a reduction to no less than 8 feet. The Director may also authorize an average width of landscape strip rather than a minimum.

(j)The required number of parking spaces, reduction not to exceed 20% below the minimum required, and addition not to exceed 10% above the maximum permitted number of spaces.

§ 20-3-3

Administrative Variances by the Director of Public Works

Section 20-3-3. Administrative Variances by the Director of Public Works and/or the Director of Water Resources This Code authorizes the Director of Public Works and the Director of Water Resources in certain instances to vary or waive requirements (as distinguished from design variances as specified in Article 11). In such instances, the Director of Public Works or Director of Water Resources may exercise such authority upon application for such an administrative variance to the Director of Community and Economic Development, which shall be forwarded to the Director of Public Works or Director of Water Resources for review and approval, conditional approval, or disapproval, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 20-3-4

Requirements for Administrative Variance Applications

To initiate an application for administrative variance, an application must be submitted to the Department of Community and Economic Development which shall include the following:

(a)A completed application form supplied by the department and a statement of hardship form included with application form must be completed by the applicant.

(b)A written narrative explaining and justifying the request;

(c)A to-scale plat, boundary survey, or as built survey in electronic format.

(d)Concept plan or home location plan in electronic format.

(e)Architectural rendering or building elevation in electronic format.

The Department of Community and Economic Development, in reviewing an application, shall also be authorized to require any additional supporting information necessary to review an administrative variance on the record necessary to resolve the request for relief.

§ 20-3-5

Review for Completeness

The Department of Community and Economic Development shall review the application for completeness within 10 days of the published closing date. Incomplete or improper applications will be returned to the applicant.

§ 20-3-6

Criteria for Approval of Administrative Variances

In acting upon applications for administrative variances, the Director of Community and Economic Development, the Director of Public Works, or the Director of Water Resources shall consider whether one or more of the following condition(s) exist to justify or provide grounds for disapproval of said request:

(a)There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property in question because of its size, shape, location within or near environmentally sensitive area, or topography;

(b)The application of this Code to this particular piece of property would create an unnecessary hardship; and

(c)There are conditions that are peculiar to the property which adversely affect its reasonable use or usability as currently zoned.

§ 20-3-7

Decision

In rendering a decision on an administrative variance application, the Director of Community and Economic Development, the Director of Public Works, or the Director of Water Resources shall consider all information supplied by the applicant. Within 21 calendar days of receipt of a completed application for administrative variance, the director may:

(a)Approve the application as submitted;

(b)Approve the application with conditions; or

(c)Deny the application.

§ 20-3-8

Notice of Action

Notice of the action on an administrative variance may be emailed or sent by United States mail to the applicant. If the application for administrative variance is denied, the reasons for denial shall be stated in the notice of action.

§ 20-3-9

Finality and Variance Remedy

The action of the Director of Community and Economic Development on the administrative variance application (or, if they have jurisdiction, the Director of Public Works or Director of Water Resources) shall be final and may not be appealed as an administrative decision pursuant to Chapter 18-7; provided, however, that any person who is denied an application for administrative variance pursuant to this Chapter may file an application for variance with the Planning and Appeals Board pursuant to Chapter 18-6.

§ 20-3-10

Records

The Director of Community and Economic Development shall keep public records of all administrative variances applied for and granted pursuant to this chapter.