Sandy Springs Board upholds staff denial of homeowner’s 20-foot setback variance request
March 05, 2026 | Sandy Springs, Fulton County, Georgia
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The Sandy Springs Board of Appeals voted 5–1 on March 4 to uphold staff’s recommendation to deny a variance request that would let a homeowner build 20 feet inside the city’s 60-foot primary street setback at 870 Edgewater Drive.
Applicant Bruce Bowen, who said he and his wife have lived at 870 Edgewater Drive for decades, told the board the lot has steep, uneven topography and a culvert easement that make the site difficult to build on. “I have a 46 degree slope in the back,” Bowen said, arguing the requested encroachment would allow a design that preserves two large trees and avoids a larger stormwater trench.
City staff told the board the property can accommodate a new home without a setback encroachment and recommended denial. “An extraordinary hardship has not been proven,” staff said in its presentation, noting the lot is rectangular, larger than the minimum for its zoning, and that an alternate, conforming design was provided.
Chair Sherry Allen framed the board’s legal standard during deliberations, emphasizing that the board must follow the development code: “We are governed by the development code,” she said, and a variance requires more than “mere inconvenience.”
Board members questioned how the site’s required on‑site stormwater tank would interact with a preexisting culvert and swale and whether moving or eliminating the applicant’s proposed golf-cart/storage area could reduce the requested encroachment. The building official’s report and discussion at the meeting noted removing the storage could reduce the encroachment by roughly 10 feet.
After allowing the applicant five minutes of rebuttal, a board member moved to support staff’s denial. The motion was seconded and passed with five ayes and one opposed, officially denying variance V25‑53.
The board also received routine announcements: Jeffrey Howe was appointed to the Board of Appeals and is expected to join in April, and the board scheduled a retreat for March 20 at Sandringham City Hall.
No additional appeals or follow-up hearings were scheduled at the meeting; the board adjourned following the vote.
Applicant Bruce Bowen, who said he and his wife have lived at 870 Edgewater Drive for decades, told the board the lot has steep, uneven topography and a culvert easement that make the site difficult to build on. “I have a 46 degree slope in the back,” Bowen said, arguing the requested encroachment would allow a design that preserves two large trees and avoids a larger stormwater trench.
City staff told the board the property can accommodate a new home without a setback encroachment and recommended denial. “An extraordinary hardship has not been proven,” staff said in its presentation, noting the lot is rectangular, larger than the minimum for its zoning, and that an alternate, conforming design was provided.
Chair Sherry Allen framed the board’s legal standard during deliberations, emphasizing that the board must follow the development code: “We are governed by the development code,” she said, and a variance requires more than “mere inconvenience.”
Board members questioned how the site’s required on‑site stormwater tank would interact with a preexisting culvert and swale and whether moving or eliminating the applicant’s proposed golf-cart/storage area could reduce the requested encroachment. The building official’s report and discussion at the meeting noted removing the storage could reduce the encroachment by roughly 10 feet.
After allowing the applicant five minutes of rebuttal, a board member moved to support staff’s denial. The motion was seconded and passed with five ayes and one opposed, officially denying variance V25‑53.
The board also received routine announcements: Jeffrey Howe was appointed to the Board of Appeals and is expected to join in April, and the board scheduled a retreat for March 20 at Sandringham City Hall.
No additional appeals or follow-up hearings were scheduled at the meeting; the board adjourned following the vote.
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