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Thursday, August 7, 2008
Building porch requires red tape
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Do you want to do a story about Snellville?”
Posing that question to me is like offering crack to a crack head. It’s what Judy Ackerman asked the other day when she rang with a story about a couple who want to build a screened porch for their backyard.
Ralph and Jacqueline Blanchard want to do it legally. Sometimes following the law means dealing with bureaucracy, rules and regulations that don’t make a whole heap of sense to everyday people. So the Blanchards turned to Ackerman, a neighbor and friend, to help navigate City Hall. After sitting in on a meeting they had Wednesday with city officials, I see why.
“Maybe they should build a crematory,” quipped Ackerman, poking fun at the city for a zoning classification that will allow a crematory to operate near a neighborhood whose residents are none too pleased with the business’ location.
The Blanchards need a city-approved variance because the proposed porch would encroach on the required setback. The variance must be approved by a nine-member Zoning Board of Appeals.
But I’m getting ahead of the story. Before going before the board, the former funeral home owners must apply for the variance, an application process that requires a landfill of paperwork, not to mention a $250 fee. These items are part of the “submittal checklist”:
A certificate of title of the property. A map of the property. A list of adjoining property owners, their addresses and tax parcel numbers. A site and concept plan. Proof that property taxes are paid. An analysis/details of the waiver request. Nine copies of the application packet. A CD/ROM of the site and concept plan as well as other documents.
The Blanchards just want a porch so they can enjoy the outdoors sans mosquitoes. I’m not advocating skirting the law, but this sweet couple could have done what some people do. Build without a peep to City Hall.
“We couldn’t do that,” Jacqueline Blanchard told me. “We’re Christians. We want to follow the law.”
“We want to be able to sleep with ourselves at night,” added Ralph Blanchard, who’s been in and out of the hospital as of late.
Laws, even bad ones, are made to serve a purpose. And I’m sure valid reasons exist for Snellville’s variance application process. But it seems to me Snellville, as well as other municipalities, should have a separate, more streamlined procedure when it comes to seemingly harmless home projects.
This project, in the words of Ralph Blanchard, is little more than a “box” that will be built over a concrete slab. He told acting city planner Jason M. Thompson, and John Dennis, the zoning administrator, as much Wednesday. The Badie Tour tagged along.
“There is no plumbing in it, no heating and AC, and no wiring involved,” he said. “It will just be a box, sitting there, that affects nobody. Seems like to me this should be a simplified process.”
Thompson and Dennis are two of the most professional and respectful city workers I’ve ever come across. And I’d like to think it wasn’t because yours truly occupied a seat in the corner. They seemed to care.
“We can do a lot to help you through this process,” Thompson said. “It’s pretty complicated, but this is the only way to make it legal. I don’t have a problem helping you through the process. I know it seems excessive for something like this.”
Ralph Blanchard turned to his wife of 60 years.
“You want this porch bad enough?” he asked.
“Whatever you want to do,” she answered. “I think we can do it.”
And with the help of Ackerman, I think they can.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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