April 2025 DRC Recap: Law Office Expansion
4/15/25
Law Office Expansion – 729 Piedmont Avenue
An existing law office along Piedmont Ave. just south of 4th St. has proposed a ~1,560 SF expansion with two stories added to the rear of the building raised on posts. The new exterior would be in line with and match the existing brick façade of the main building.
The City’s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) will need to address: 1) the expansion of the non-conforming office use, 2) both north and south side yard setbacks, and 3) the reduction of parking.
The DRC requested greater ADA accessibility and balancing the need for parking with a combination of new landscaped areas and pervious pavers with the following suggestions.
DRC Recommendations:
- Coordinate all plans and elevations for consistency.
- Apply to the City’s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for 1) the expansion of the non-conforming office use, 2) both side yard setbacks, and 3) the reduction of parking.
- Strategically remove pavement and pavers to increase pervious surfaces while balancing the need to provide sufficient parking. The parking areas should be brought to code for ADA, minimum dimensions, and landscape buffering. Consider that up to 25% of parking spaces can be compact size at 8’ x 16’ rather than the standard 8.5’ x 18’ size.
- In the front yard (supplemental zone) remove pavers adjacent to the Piedmont Ave. sidewalk and replace with min. 4’ wide landscape strips (with curbing) flanking both sides of the future access driveway. Plant the south landscape strip with a new min. 2.5” caliper Overcup Oak tree. The updated striped parking plan shall include one ADA space.
- In the rear yard provide a striped parking plan accessible from the alley by removing asphalt where parking is inaccessible, such as at the periphery and in corners, and installing permeable pavers as needed to meet the min. 35% pervious lot requirements.
- Assure ADA accessibility from the ADA parking space to the entry including potential re-grading to the porch and ramping to the entry door.
- Install one bike rack near the front porch entry and covered bike parking in the rear.
Next Steps:
The committee expects to receive updated info for electronic review to confirm that these comments will be addressed.