SAVANNAH ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MPC STAFF REPORT PETITIONER: FILE NO: ADDRESS: Timothy Kinsey, Fortitude Design 421 East Bolton Street Savannah, GA 31410 DATE: Nature of Request The petitioner, Timothy Kinsey as agent for Community Bible Church of Savannah, is requesting approval of a use #15 (Church and other places of worship); a variance in the requirement that the church should face an arterial or collector street; a 34 percent lot coverage variance above the 30 percent maximum coverage; a variance to reduce the front yard building setback from the required 50-feet from centerline (25 feet from property line) to 8.5 feet (a 16.5 foot variance); a variance to reduce the side yard setback from 15 feet on East 68 th Street to nine feet (a six foot variance); a variance to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 10 foot (a 15 foot variance); and an 17-space parking variance from the 96 spaces required. Findings 1. The subject property is three adjoining lots located at, between 69 th and 68 th streets at the intersection of 69 th and Sanders streets. The property totals approximately 1.17 acres and is zoned PUD-IS-B (Planned Unit Development Institutional) and R-6 (Single-family Residential). 2. The property fronting on 69 th street is currently occupied by a church social hall and sanctuary. The current sanctuary seats 319 persons. The petitioner proposes to construct a new sanctuary behind the existing sanctuary and to re-purpose the existing sanctuary. The new sanctuary would seat 767 persons. 3. The proposed use (Church and other places of worship) must receive approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide upon requests for permission to establish uses upon which the Board of Appeals is required to pass under the terms of this chapter. The application to establish such use shall be approved on a finding by the Board of Appeals that: (1) The proposed use does not affect adversely the general plans for the physical development of the city, as embodied in this chapter, and in any master plan or portion thereof adopted by the mayor and aldermen.
Timothy Kinsey, Fortitude Design Page 2 The existing use (church) is generally in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood. This property is designated Residential Neighborhood on the future land use map of the Tricentennial Comprehensive Plan. The proposed 767-seat sanctuary, however, would nearly triple the capacity of the church, which currently creates some neighborhood parking and congestion issues during meetings. (2) The proposed use will not be contrary to the purposes stated for this chapter. The proposed use is contrary to the purposes stated for this chapter in that it does not meet two of the key criteria for churches: that such uses shall be located on an arterial or collector street; and that such uses shall be 100 feet or more from the closest residential use. (3) The proposed use will not affect adversely the health and safety of residents and workers in the city. The proposed use will not adversely affect the health and safety of residents and workers in the city, provided adequate off-street parking is provided and roadway intersections are adequate to bear the increased traffic load safely. (4) The proposed use will not be detrimental to the use or development of adjacent properties or the general neighborhood. The proposed use could be detrimental to the use of adjacent properties by overloading the available parking and blocking street passage. Also, the coverage of an existing vacant parcel (playground area) with impervious surface could have an adverse affect on drainage in the vicinity. (5) The proposed use will not be affected adversely by the existing uses. The proposed use will not be affected adversely by the existing uses. (6) The proposed use will be placed on a lot of sufficient size to satisfy the space requirements of such use. The proposed use will be placed on a lot that is not of sufficient size to satisfy the space requirements of such use, and the petitioners are requesting setback, lot coverage and parking variances in order that the space might accommodate the larger building. (7) The proposed use will not constitute a nuisance or hazard because of the number of persons who will attend or use such facility, vehicular movement, noise or fume generation or type of physical activity. The proposed use could constitute a traffic and congestion problem. There is insufficient parking to accommodate the proposed use. The roadways surrounding the use are local residential, undivided city streets and do not meet the standard required in the ordinance. (8) The standards set forth for each particular use for which a permit may be granted have been met. The standards set forth for the particular use have not been met.
Timothy Kinsey, Fortitude Design Page 3 4. The proposed use (church) is permissible (with Board approval) in the R-6 zoning district which obtains for most of the subject property, provided the facility is located on an arterial or collector street. All of the streets in the vicinity of the subject property are local residential streets. The petitioners are seeking a variance from this requirement. Such conditions are not peculiar to the particular 5. The current use creates a parking demand of 40 spaces (one space for eight sanctuary seats). The use presently utilizes 79 off-site parking spaces on nearby lots, as well as borrowed spaces on property belonging to a doctor s offices off Waters Avenue. The proposed use would require 96 parking spaces (56 additional), and the petitioners are proposing to provide a total of 79 spaces; they are requesting an 17-space parking variance.
Timothy Kinsey, Fortitude Design Page 4 Such conditions are not peculiar to the particular 6. The petitioners are proposing to construct the new sanctuary and retain the existing social hall and sanctuary (which will be re-purposed). The total lot coverage will be 17,179 square feet and will represent a lot coverage of 63.6%. The maximum lot coverage permitted in the R-6 zoning district is 30 percent. The petitioners are requesting a 34 percent lot coverage variance. Such conditions are not peculiar to the particular 7. The petitioners are proposing to construct the new sanctuary such that it will encroach on front, side and rear building setbacks. They are request a variance to reduce the front yard building setback from the required 50-feet from centerline (25 feet from property line) to 8.5 feet (a 16.5 foot variance); a variance to reduce the side yard setback from 15 feet on East 68 th Street to nine feet (a six foot variance); a variance to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet (a 15 foot variance).
Timothy Kinsey, Fortitude Design Page 5 an unnecessary hardship, as the proposed structure has not been built and could be designed to observe required setbacks. Such conditions are not peculiar to the particular Staff Recommendation The proposed use, an expansion of an existing church onto adjoining property, would be a substantial traffic generator, and would place heavy demands upon the existing off-street and on-street parking. The ordinance requires such uses to be located on Collector and Arterial roadways designed to handle a high volume of traffic in order to accommodate that traffic. The off-street parking requirements for churches (one space for each eight sanctuary seats) are significantly lower than the requirements for any similar traffic generator, and could be deemed lenient. The petitioners are proposing to provide substantially less off-street parking than even that lenient standard requires. The proposed remote parking for the proposed expanded church is already in use by the existing church, and is arguably too little parking for the current demand. The petitioners propose to increase the parking demand by two and a half times while adding little additional parking. The building setbacks and lot coverage maximums for the R-6 zoning district are set, in part, to preserve a residential character for neighborhoods. The proposal to construct this 8,239 square foot, 767-seat sanctuary will have a substantial impact on the character of this neighborhood. While recognizing the admirable goal of accommodating more members in a church, it is important that the church not impose on the neighborhood in which those members gather. Staff recommends denial of the requested use and variances.