Roswell council approves carriage‑house conditional use with 14‑tree buffer after neighbors cite septic and privacy concerns

The Roswell City Council on May 11 approved a conditional use permit for a carriage house at 440 House Way, adding a council‑imposed condition that the applicant plant an additional 14 trees along the rear property line to mitigate visibility and canopy loss.

Planning and Zoning Director Jeanne Payton presented the application for a 986‑square‑foot carriage house on a 0.7‑acre lot in the RS30 zoning district and explained that conditional use approval requires the council’s action. Planning Commission had recommended denial, citing administrative concerns including documents related to a Fulton County health department septic determination.

Neighbors urged the council to defer action. Guy Skoll, president of the Darien Park homeowners association, said Fulton County must determine whether the lot’s septic system could support a second dwelling and that notarized documents were missing from the publicly available packet. “Fulton County septic standards go far beyond minimum lot size,” Skoll said, urging the council to wait for a county determination.

Applicant Kelvin Walls, who said he needs the in‑law suite to care for elderly family members, told the council he has applied to Fulton County for the necessary septic variance and provided an arborist report saying several trees were either unhealthy or would need to be removed for safety.

Council members debated whether planning commission had exceeded its scope by focusing on issues outside the five conditional‑use criteria and discussed tree mitigation, buffers and whether code requirements would already compel recompense for a specimen oak. Council Member Chris Zack proposed—and Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Beeson moved—to approve the conditional use with the added requirement that the applicant plant 14 trees; Council Member Zack seconded the motion.

The motion passed 4–2. Council members in the majority said the code allows conditional uses under these circumstances and that the additional trees will provide screening; dissenting members said they were concerned about process, incomplete documentation and quality‑of‑life impacts for nearby homeowners.

Because Fulton County retains authority over septic approvals, staff emphasized that final building permits and certificate of occupancy would remain contingent on county review.