December 05, 2007
Aladdin Nabavi was hoping to receive a recommended approval from the Planning Commission this week for his client, an Alpharetta dentist. But things just haven't been going his way, compelling him to request a deferral.
Nabavi said was surprised when he received extreme opposition at what he thought would be a routine Johns Creek Community Association (JCCA) zoning meeting, particularly after receiving a few letters of support from adjacent neighbors.
Nabavi's request was to rezone a one-acre lot at 8125 McGinnis Ferry Road from AG-1 to C-1 Community Business District to allow for a two-story, 8,320-square-foot office building, as well as four concurrent variances to reduce the rear setback, to allow parking to encroach in the side setbacks and to allow a water quality feature in the front landscape strip. He also requests a reduction in required parking from 34 to 25.
The owner, Dr. Hossein Zadeh, is looking to expand his dental practice into Johns Creek. The lot is the eastern most of three that jut into the Blackstone subdivision on McGinnis Ferry Road, just west of Bell Road.
Nabavi and the Blackstone subdivision have already met twice, along with Gary Tipps, a member of the JCCA's Zoning Committee.
According to Tipps, those meetings were productive, motivating the letters of support Nabavi received. Residents made a number of suggestions, and Nabavi and his client took them to heart. Residents wanted at least a 20-foot rear setback, but Nabavi did better with a 25-foot setback, granted down from 50 feet.
Per their suggestions, Nabavi also added a sidewalk, a bench and a gate to prevent parking there after regular business office hours.
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In addition, he committed to a red brick exterior and matte glass for the upstairs windows to maintain neighbor privacy. He also added trees and additional landscaping to block the view from adjacent home.
But when Nabavi returned to the JCCA meeting to present his changes and elevations and to shake hands, the residents had changed their minds.
Residents said they appreciated the changes made from the last meeting, but they were still concerned that allowing commercial to jut into their subdivision will set precedent for the other two lots that jut into the subdivision, as would any variance approvals.
Blackstone residents and other meeting attendees suggested more ideas to improve the site plan. Jim Warren, vice president of Technology Park Atlanta, suggested removing the nine-foot islands in the parking lot to move the building forward 18 feet, which would increase the rear setback to 43 feet. Then take 10 feet out of the 40-foot front setback and put that footage in front of the building, creating a less commercial look by not having the pavement go right up to the building. Then create berms and plant evergreens.
But residents admitted they would not be happy with the project – period.
"Bottom line – we don't want a commercial building on that lot," said Rajul Patel, president of the Blackstone Homeowners Association (HOA).
Instead, residents want to see a house there, and HOA members said they would be willing to consider letting that home become part of the subdivision.
But there is one glaring flaw with that idea. A traffic light is going to be installed at the front of that lot, through the McGinnis Ferry Road widening project.
The driveway would also have to align with the future intersection of the Villages at Shakerag, located across McGinnis Ferry in Forsyth County.
"Find a developer who will build a house there, and we will sell it for the price we paid," said Nabavi, who said costs for the doctor have reached more than $250,000.
Nabavi said the cost of land should equal about 1/4 or 1/5 of the selling price of a home developed on that land, meaning somewhere between $1 million and $1.25 million. But the chance of someone purchasing and developing that land for a house of that price at a traffic light, surrounded by $350,000 to $400,000 homes, is slim, he said.
"It's impossible," he said. "Show me a person with kids that is going to live there at a red light. There is no security."
Members of the Blackstone HOA said they would give that parcel an entrance into their subdivision. But Nabavi said that if a house were built there for a million dollars with access from the subdivision, it would reduce the value of the new home based on evaluation comparisons, even if the home cost the buyer $1 million.
At the suggestion of residents and JCCA members, Nabavi said his client will consider changing the rezone request to Office-Institutional (O-I) rather than C-1 to help alleviate some concerns, despite his believe that C-1 would be a preferred transitional zoning.
"A professional office with a residential look is among the most preferred type of transitional zoning next to high-end homes," said Nabavi. "It is a compliment to the neighborhood."
But his luck continued to run out. Johns Creek city staff recommended denial of the application. The staff report says that a less intense zoning designation limiting uses, in conjunction with guidelines to maintain residential character, could be found to be more appropriate.
And so Nabavi felt he had no other choice but to request to defer for 30 days. In the meantime, he has retained well-known Johns Creek land use attorney Wendy Butler, who represented both Johns Creek Walk II and Mount Pisgah Christian School's recreation facility.
The Planning Commission's decision on a 30-day deferral was not available as of press time. If a deferral is approved, Nabavi and Butler will be back to the Planning Commission in January.
- www.northfulton.com
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