2017-25 Granting Non-Conforming Use Permit 3350 West Marietta Street

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Item Coversheet Page 1 of 2 in Development Services DATE: 5/26/2017 MEMO: No. 17-07 TO: Honorable Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and City Council FROM: Tim Gleason,City Manager Billy Tyus,Assistant City Manager Suzan Stickle,Senior Planner SUBJECT: Non-conforming use permit for the expansion of a Contractors and Builders use in the R-1 Single Family Residence District at 3350 West Marietta Street SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends denial of the non-conforming use permit for the expansion of a Contractors and Builders use in the R-1 Single Family Residence District. The City Plan Commission voted 8-0 to recommend approval of this petition at the April 6, 2017 meeting;the minutes of the meeting are attached. BACKGROUND: The subject site consists of 0.45 acres and is currently developed with a single family structure and a detached accessory structure located at 3350 West Marietta Street.This site was annexed into the City of Decatur in October of 1995 and is currently zoned R-1 Single Family Residence District. The petitioner has been operating a construction business from this location since its annexation into the City of Decatur in 1995. Prior to the annexation of this site the construction business was operating in Macon County as a home occupation. Macon County's Planning and Zoning Department has confirmed in a letter that the site was in conformance with the requirements for home occupation at the time of annexation in 1995. The petitioner has provided numerous affidavits from neighbors having knowledge that a construction business has been located at the site ranging in time from 15 years to 34 years. The petitioner has one(1)employee,Mr.Kendall's daughter,who reports to this location as an office employee.The office for the construction business is located in the single family structure. The petitioner is seeking a non-conforming use permit to expand the existing business at the site by enlarging the detached accessory structure to allow for the storage of four (4) work vehicles and two (2) JLG lifts and according to the petition, the storage of construction materials. The non-conforming use of this property may continue in its current state per the Zoning Ordinance.The proposed expansion creates the requirement for a non-conforming use permit. The expansion of a contractors and builders use in the R-1 Single Family Residence District is not consistent with the intent of the Zoning Ordinance or the Macon County and Decatur Comprehensive Plan as it calls for low density residential. The contractors and builders use is a permitted use in the B-2 Commercial District and allowing this type of high intensity use to expand in a residential district is not with the intent of the Zoning Ordinance. Residential districts in the City of Decatur are allowed to have home occupations that would be non-intrusive to the neighborhood and continue to allow the neighborhood to maintain a residential character. The home occupation definition requires the use of only the main structure for the business and only those members of the immediate family residing on premise to be employed by the business. This business has an office in the main structure and storage in the detached accessory structure. There is an employee who does not reside at the premise who reports to work in the office. It also requires that equipment is similar in character to that normally used for purely domestic purposes. The petitioner plans to store JLG lifts in the detached accessory structure,which are not similar in character to equipment used for purely domestic purposes.This type of business is clearly not meeting any of the requirements of the City Zoning Ordinance definition for home occupation. Expanding a use such as being https:Hdecatur.novusagenda.com/AgendaWeb/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=1140 6/20/2017