Alpharetta may let a work vehicle park in the driveway

Homeowners in Alpharetta could park one marked work vehicle on their driveway under a rule change the City Council takes up Nov. 16. Today the city’s code says a business vehicle has to be kept out of sight of the street.

The change also adds definitions of a “business vehicle” and a “recreational vehicle” to the zoning code. Rules for RVs and boats would stay as they are.

Updated Oct. 24: the city canceled the Oct. 26 council meeting. Staff deferred this item to the Nov. 16 meeting, the city’s cancellation notice says. The nuisance code rewrite listed below has been withdrawn. Our story on the cancellation has the details.

The item is a public hearing and the ordinance’s first reading, so a final vote will not come at the Nov. 16 meeting.

Why the city wants the change

Two recent code enforcement cases prompted it, according to the staff report in the council packet. Both involved a vehicle with a towing capacity over 1.5 tons parked at a home.

• In one, a judge ruled against the city because the code did not define a business or recreational vehicle.
• In the other, a homeowner appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals. A variance was not possible because the code listed the parking as “prohibited.”

The Planning Commission first heard the change July 9. It deferred it and asked staff to rethink the definition of a business vehicle and the ban on parking one at a home. The revised version came back Oct. 1. The commission recommended approval 6-0. Nobody spoke at either hearing, the staff report says.

What would change

The proposed ordinance, a redline of Section 2.5.4 of the Unified Development Code, would:

• allow one business vehicle on a paved driveway if its carrying capacity is under 1.5 tons. That includes a vehicle used for a home-based business.
• keep RVs and boats out of sight. One or more recreational vehicles may still be parked or stored only in an area not visible from a street.
• turn the ban on heavy vehicles into a “not permitted” rule. Regular parking of any vehicle with a carrying capacity over 1.5 tons stays off-limits in residential districts. The change lets an owner ask the City Council for a hardship variance.
• exempt AG (agriculture) zoned land from the heavy-vehicle limit.
• leave apartment lots and parking decks out. The rules would apply to homes, not to residential parking lots or structured decks.

Pickup and panel trucks that someone drives to and from work every day remain allowed in all residential districts, as now.

The new definitions read:

• Business vehicle: a vehicle, or a trailer towed by one, used for business, including a home occupation, and bearing business or commercial signage. Government-issued vehicles are excluded.
• Recreational vehicle: a vehicle or towed trailer built on a single chassis for temporary living, travel or recreation. Examples include motorhomes, travel trailers, campers, fifth wheels, boats and other watercraft, and recreational trailers.

How a variance would be judged

The council would weigh these factors, the ordinance says:

• signed affidavits of support from every neighboring parcel that can see the vehicle
• whether the vehicle can be stored behind the front setback, or behind the side setback on a corner lot
• whether it can sit on pavement or concrete
• anything unusual about the lot’s size, shape or slope
• the economic hardship if the variance were denied
• whether granting it would harm the public good

Variances are meant for hardship or unusual circumstances, “as contrasted with merely granting an advantage or a convenience,” the draft says.

A grandfather clause stays in the code. Owners who were already parking a boat or RV in a way that broke the rules before the original rule took effect in June 1994 may keep doing so.

Also on the canceled Oct. 26 agenda

• Royal 400 data center substation. Now due Nov. 16. The council will decide the Georgia Power substation at 4905 North Point Parkway. Our story on the substation has the details.
• Restaurant at Windward Parkway and Edison Drive. The Luxury Enterprise Group asks to allow a two-story, 7,900-square-foot restaurant with no drive-thru on 3.75 acres in Windward. It also wants outdoor seating to reach into a stream setback. The Planning Commission recommended approval 6-0 on Oct. 1, with conditions including a 12-foot public sculpture at the corner and a left-turn lane on Edison Drive. The case does not name the restaurant. Now due Nov. 16.
• Nuisance code rewrite, first reading. The ordinance redefines junk vehicles, litter, nuisance trees and nuisance buildings. It adds properties used in connection with drug crimes to the nuisance building rules. It also sets out notice, inspection and lien procedures, the staff report says. Withdrawn: the cancellation notice says it will not be considered.
• 350 Wills Lane. A request to split 4.98 acres into three home lots has been deferred by the applicant to Nov. 16.
• Cybersecurity contract. A one-year, $116,000 renewal with Novacoast for endpoint management and vulnerability software. Now due Nov. 9.
• Legal costs for city staff. A work session discussion of a policy on legal representation and defense costs for city officials and employees sued in civil cases. The cancellation notice does not mention it.

What it means for you

• If you run a business from home or drive a marked company van or truck, the change would let you keep one on your paved driveway, provided it carries less than 1.5 tons.
• If you keep an RV, camper or boat at home, nothing changes: it still has to be out of sight of the street.
• If you have a heavier vehicle, you could apply to the council for a variance once the change passes. Neighbors’ signed support is one of the factors.
• The public hearing is now at the Nov. 16 council meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
• Our building permits and zoning guide explains how Alpharetta’s zoning cases work, and our public notices page lists upcoming hearings.