The Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a special-use permit and related variances for a sorority at 480 South Milledge Avenue (SUP 2025-07-1361), after hearing a staff report, applicant testimony and neighborhood comments. The commission approved the permit with two conditions required before a certificate of occupancy: (1) a direct sidewalk connection from the easternmost building to the public sidewalk on Milledge Avenue; and (2) a recorded off-site parking agreement providing the required off-site spaces, to be with Clark Central High School or an appropriate substitute as determined by the planning director.

Staff presented the application as a request to demolish the front building and construct a new chapter house with assembly space, reconfigure parking and site renovations. The application included seven variances: increase maximum lot coverage (from 65% to 85.1%); decrease minimum landscaped area (35% to 14%); increase maximum floor‑area ratio within the Milledge Avenue overlay (0.5 to 0.65); reduce required on‑site parking (from 154 to 35 on‑site plus 45 off‑site); eliminate additional screening of the rear parking area adjacent to Clark Central High School; reduce the minimum conserved canopy percentage (25% to 7.3%); and reduce total tree canopy (50% to 32.5%). Staff recommended denial overall because four of the seven variances did not meet the five-criteria test, but supported variances for the FAR, rear screening, and conserved canopy.

Applicant representatives said they revised plans after consultations with the fire marshal to add 12‑foot drive aisles and three fire department connections that serve the three structures, and to provide a pervious pavement area with underdrain sized to meet Athens‑Clarke County stormwater recharge and detention requirements. The applicant gave specific impervious-surface figures: existing impervious area about 31,500 sq ft (75.8%); proposed impervious 35,600 sq ft (86.1%); and, counting 8,410 sq ft of pervious pavement as pervious, an effective impervious area of about 27,149 sq ft (64.99%). The applicant said the pervious pavement is sized to control runoff for 2‑ and 25‑year events and that on‑site detention would exceed the 100‑year event.

The applicant also presented occupancy/parking context drawn from nearby Greek houses: the proposed chapter would have 34 beds and 35 on‑site parking spaces; proponents argued that comparable sorority/fraternity houses in the corridor had similar ratios (examples cited in staff/applicant materials). The applicant and architect said shared/alternate use of assembly spaces reduces simultaneous parking demand (e.g., dining, study, assembly functions are used at different times).

Residents and organizational representatives spoke in favor, including a founding member who said most members live on campus and that the site is on a bus line. Commissioners raised questions about lot coverage, tree canopy, and parking; several commissioners said they were not convinced the parking-calculation in the code reflected real usage patterns for chapter houses and emphasized the value of the off-site parking agreement as an insurance policy for peak events such as chapter meeting nights.

During deliberations commissioners noted that much of the increase in impervious area was driven by fire-marshal and public-safety requirements (wider drive aisles and access), and they discussed mitigation via the proposed pervious pavement. Commissioners asked staff and the applicant for clarification about whether some nonconformities predated the submittal; staff confirmed some issues existed before the fire-marshal adjustments while acknowledging some changes did affect conserved canopy and impervious calculations.

The commission motion approved the special-use permit and the requested variances and added staff’s two recommended conditions, inserting the phrase "or appropriate substitute as determined by the planning director" after Clark Central High School to allow flexibility if a different off-site provider is needed. The motion passed unanimously.

Votes at a glance: the commission recorded unanimous approval; the motion carried with all voting members recorded as "yes." The applicant will be required to record the off‑site parking agreement with the Clerk of Courts and submit it during plan review, and to construct the sidewalk connection prior to certificate of occupancy.

Background and next steps: the commission’s approval is a recommendation to the mayor and commission (Athens‑Clarke County mayor/commission), not a final development permit. The applicant noted they would secure the required off‑site parking agreement prior to occupancy. Staff emphasized that, under code, pervious pavement is counted as lot coverage for purposes of the lot‑coverage and landscaped‑area standards, a distinction commissioners noted during questioning.