Avondale Estates, GA — The Avondale Estates City Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m. for a regular meeting and work session. The City Commission meeting will be held via Zoom.

To join the meeting via Zoom, click here.

To view the meeting agendas, click here.

During the regular meeting, the city commission will consider a variance request from the homeowners at 3125 Kensington Road. They applied for a variance to reduce the front and streetside setback on their property to tear down the existing house and build a new one.

The city’s Planning, Zoning and Architecture Board, recommended approval, but city staff reversed course and recommended that the city commission deny the request.

“After discussing the matter further with our city attorney, it is now the city staff’s opinion that the property owner did not demonstrate a hardship necessary to require the variance, the work could be done within the bounds of the current zoning code and that the lot does not prohibit the work from being done,” City Manager Patrick Bryant said at the March 9 work session. “… Staff’s recommendation now is that the request does not meet the hardship requirement criteria as found in the code, and I would recommend the [city commission] consider denying this variance request for that reason.”

According to the agenda, the scope of work includes:

– A survey of the area to use.

– Evaluation of the subgrade conditions and pavement rehabilitation options.

– Concept design for pedestrian and landscaping improvements.

– Construction documents.

The city commission will also consider two change orders to the U.S. 278 road diet design in the amount of $107,636 for additional fees.

City staff is requesting the change orders for additional costs due to unexpected planning documents the Georgia Department of Transportation requires during the concept development phase. The change order also includes other costs associated with additional engineering for the traffic signal design in the amount of $96,673.

The Atlanta Regional Commission has granted the city about $161,000 in federal funds with a local match of $40,400 to be put toward these additional design costs.

During the work session, immediately following the regular meeting, the city commission will discuss the 2022 residential sanitation fees and AirBnBs as well as other short-term rentals. The meeting will end with an executive session with the Downtown Development Authority to discuss real estate and another executive session to discuss litigation.

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