Eight-foot fence request dropped; staff backs Ponce De Leon Place home's 11-foot wall

The applicant for a new single-family home at 811 Ponce De Leon Place NE has agreed to drop a request for an eight-foot privacy fence. But Atlanta planning staff supports allowing the proposal’s 11-foot retaining wall—and says the wall is already there.⁠[1]

In its Nov. 5 report to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, staff recommends approving four requests: reducing the half-depth front yard setback from 17.5 feet to seven feet, reducing the rear setback from 15 feet to seven feet, allowing a pool in a yard adjacent to a street, and allowing an 11-foot retaining wall where the height limit is three feet.⁠[1]

The corner lot at Greenwood Avenue has almost 20 feet of elevation change, according to the report. Staff says the existing retaining wall is necessary to maintain the lot’s stability and that the steep terrain justifies the wall.⁠[1]

Staff also says fences and landscaping would almost entirely screen the proposed pool from neighboring yards and the right of way, while the elevation difference would keep it out of view from the street. For the withdrawn fence-height request—from four feet to eight feet—the recommendation is denial without prejudice.⁠[1]

We previously reported on staff’s proposed delay. The board’s Oct. 8 summary confirms it deferred case V-26-135 to Nov. 5.⁠[2]

The case is listed for the board’s Nov. 5 meeting at noon in the second-floor Council Chambers. The staff report recommends what the board should do; it does not establish board approval of the requested exceptions.⁠[1][3]