Plunging Head First

So deciding to be the GC means that I'm responsible for all the subcontractors AND the joy of permitting.
For us, the first step was a variance.

Since we're City of Atlanta, we need to have a variance. Usually a variance is if you're expanding the footprint of your house, building a huge SnoCone on top of your house, or somehow changing the birds-eye view of your home. Not so in the City of Atlanta. "Grandfathering in" isn't really accepted. Now our plans are to go straight up vertically and not have a neon Santa rotating above height restrictions. Still we need a variance. Here's why...

So our home was built in the late 1930s early 40s by my stepfather Russell Dale's parents. We've got an old picture from 1941 that shows a sapling where a mammoth oak now stands. Back then the setbacks weren't quite the same as today. Meaning that it was ok to be just 5 feet from your neighbor's property line and not a big deal if you were only 32 feet from the street. Today, those distances are 7 & 35 respectively.

So we had 2 choices, we make our granite-based home 2 feet narrower and move it back 3 feet or get a variance. So the process began. It's a 3-step process.

First, you find out when the City of Atlanta's BZA (Board of Zoning Adjustment) meetings are. Sometimes

they're only once a month and their deadline is way in advance. I just made the March 20th application deadline for the MAY 9 meeting! Next meeting wouldn't be until June 6. They ask for all kinds of documents and fortunately I had them because we had our architect early. Plan accordingly.

Second, you go to your neighborhood association's regularly monthly meeting PRIOR to the BZA's meeting. My Lake Claire Neighborhood Association met at end of April. Now I had to notify them I was applying for a variance. They wanted additional drawing, maps, and signatures from all neighbors within 100 feet or so. That meant I ended up getting 15 neighbors "ok" to do my renovation that would not impede their sightlines, sunshine, or quality of life. Fortunately, I have terrific neighbors so this part went smoothly (remember I only asked for change in setback from 7 to 5 and 35 to 32 feet).

Third, you go to your Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) monthly meeting. City is divided up into NPUs and each one is kind of an oversight for multiple neighborhoods. They can dislike something your neighborhood liked and vice-versa. Usually they work together.

With the thumbs up from Neighborhood and NPU, you go to BZA (see how you have to get the scheduling right?), and they make the final determination. First two can deny your variance but the BZA is the only one that has the true authority in this triumvirate. They can say Yea or Nay. How hard can this be?