Dunwoody Zoning Board of Appeals meets Thursday to discuss three new Tilly Mill Homes with a possible requirement for a 12 foot sidewalk on just one parcel.

 

Interesting case coming in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night.  There is a minor variance to place three homes on the corner of Tilly Mill & Renfroe Lake across the street from the JCC which should be approved with little fan fair, but there is a catch.  The City wants 12 feet of easement and a 12 foot wide concrete path constructed on that "donated" land.   There is already a five foot sidewalk constructed within the current right of way along Tilly Mill but because the city council approved a Trail Master Plan which includes a Tilly Mill Path, the builder might have to construct that path on just that one parcel. 

Here is the issue I see that isn't highlighted in any of the proposed documents, the Trail Master Plan states on pages 47 & 48 that the trail will be built in the current right of way with Tilly Mill Road being realigned "moved" to the West.  Since the city isn't going to realign the street anytime soon, the developer shouldn't be forced by the City to give right of way that isn't part of the plan, the Zoning Board of Appeals has many options.  They could rubber stamp the request of the staff and force a 12 foot sidewalk to be donated and built on that one parcel (which might look silly for a few years until the city to has the funds to complete it) or they could be creative.  The ZBA on Thursday could recommend that right of way is not required to be donated as the Master Plan doesn't call for it and then they could recommend in accordance with section 16-220 & 221 that a financial amount be held in escrow to pay for the path once the city decides to move the street.  Maybe to be real equitable, there could even be a stipulation in there that after a specific number of years, if the city doesn't construct the path on Tilly Mill and use the funds, the escrow would revert back to the subdivision or it might be forced to be used for additional tree cover or landscaping in that section of Tilly Mill.  

The City Council doesn't have a dog in this fight as the ZBA needs to make decisions on the specific request and then the City Community Development Director needs to use his discretion as to what is best for the future of the city.  Does the improvement require a 12 ft dedication to the City when not in a plan and is it best to construct those huge sidewalks in just one segment now when the recent bond referendum on trails failed?   Another question, if a trail segment is forced to be constructed, does the builder have to install the pedestrian lighting too?  It should be an interesting meeting and it will be live streamed at 6 pm.

• Click here  - Full Packet for Thursday Meeting including objections to the proposed 12 ft trail construction.

ZBA 23-20: Michael Phelps, applicant for 5383 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, GA, 30338, requests a special exception from Chapter 27, Section 147 (3) to allow relief from contextual lot characteristics standards and variance from Chapter 16, Section 241 (e) to allow relief from design standards for new lots for a four-lot subdivision.

ZBA 23-20 Application
Decision date: January 4, 2024 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.

Southern heritage home builder is requesting a special exception to allow for 3 lots that meet r-100 requirements but due to neighbor 2 homes in Renfroe lakes subdivision. The new homes being built will be 4000 plus square ft with 3 car garages starting at 1.4 million dollars. The site plan currently meets all r-100 requirements and falls in line with Renfroe lakes subdivision lot size and home styles. We hope to start construction in the summer of 2024.

• Here is the verbiage used in the Trail Master Plan regarding Tilly Mill.

The image on page 47 illustrates a previously planned sidepath along Tilly Mill Road at the intersection with Holland Court. This segment of trail offers key connections through Central Dunwoody. The sidepath uses existing right of way and shifts the travel lanes to the west.

The image on page 48 illustrates a sidepath along Tilly Mill Road at the entrance to Stephens Walk, in
conjunction with a road realignment that allows for a turning lane into the Marcus Jewish Community
Center. By repurposing an existing deceleration lane into a sidepath, this concept is minimally invasive to
existing landscape buffers and creates opportunity to plant more shade trees along Tilly Mill Road.

• Here is the information on the Tilly Mill Path from the Public Works Page that shows it is still in concept but there is a pretty detailed map of the plans.  Below is the text regarding the path option chosen by Council.
  

Alternative 2 places the 12-foot wide shared-use path with a 3 to 5-foot buffer on the east side of Tilly Mill road and adds sidewalk where there is currently a gap on the west side of the road. The path would cross fewer driveways in this alternative than the west side of the road, and more than half of the crossings would be low-to-moderate traffic side streets where the path could potentially meander to create a safer crossing.  Temporary easements and/or narrow strips of right-of-way would be required from up to 20 properties. Since the outfall of the existing drainage networks of Tilly Mill Road are along this eastern side, the drainage improvements would be simplified and there are fewer utility poles on this side. The estimated cost for Alternative 2 is $4.2 million including pedestrian lighting.

In 2022, city staff recommended Alternative 2 based on two considerations:

1. There are more residences that could access the path on the east side of Tilly Mill Road without having to cross a major roadway.
2. There is less traffic entering and exiting the driveways and side streets on the east side of Tilly Mill which reduces conflicts with trail users.