A project to refurbish a residential property on Walton Way proved contentious, Monday afternoon, during the Augusta Board of Zoning Appeals’ monthly meeting.
Bill Hock had requested a variance at 3204 Wheeler Road, zoned One-family Residential (R-1), to allow for the installation of a 14-foot-tall retaining wall fence on the property’s side yard, whereas the maximum allowed height is six feet.
The applicant seeks to permit a six-foot fence to be placed atop the home’s parking area retaining wall, which is itself eight feet tall. There is a 15% gradient on the property, as the driveway slopes down from Wheeler Road approximately 200 feet to the back of the lot.
Zoning administrator Brian Kepner explained to the board members that the previous owners had constructed an elevated concrete driveway and parking area, with a retaining wall, for access to the garage, also adding a wooden, six-foot privacy fence near the west property line.
Bill Corder of Bluewater Engineering, speaking to the board on behalf of Hock, told the board members that the wall was already installed in the rear of the property when he began conferring with the applicant. He expounded further saying that the property owners “removed a lot of the wall and the concrete and rebuilt it,” to allow for a level surface for the parking area, and were made aware that a variance was required for such an alteration after a neighbor complained.
Neighboring homeowners Jonathan and Sara Marchman, citing that the project was never permitted by the city and decrying its adverse impact on their own property, such as excess water during rain.
“It’s dramatically devalued my property,” said Jonathan Marchman. “Consider when I walk out on my front porch, I have a two inches shot of a 15-foot wall, and then 30-foot tall bamboo that I have to clean up every day.”
Board member Ross Trulock asked Corder if the wall could be removed without also removing the entire driveway, to which Corder responded that it could not, as all of the concrete had been poured together.
Planning staff recommended denial of the variance request, but suggested two conditions should the board have decided to approve: the first, that the wall and fence not exceed 14 feet in height, and the second requiring the homeowners to provide engineered structural plans, “and/or analysis,” to the city’s building official for review within three months.
The board would go through three votes before moving on from the item. Trulock motioned to approve the request with conditions. This motion was denied, with board members Arlean Williams, Evett Williams, Charles Paschal, Reginald Forrest, Brenda Morton, Ethoin Rowe voting to disapprove, and board members Jerry Brigham, Timothy Turner and Trulock voting in favor.
As the board had only voted down a motion to approve, it was still required to take a vote on whether to explicitly deny the request. Brigham put forth a new motion, seconded by Trulock, to allow for the elevated driveway, to remove the fence and still require the structural analysis.
This was also voted down, with only Brigham and Turner approving, Morton and Paschal abstaining and everyone else voting to deny.
Turner then motioned to postpone the matter to July’s meeting, seconded by Brigham. The board then voted unanimously in favor of tabling the request.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
