A proposal to build a Fifth Third Bank branch on Roswell Road drew opposition because of plans to include a drive-through window.
Sandy Springs City Council approved a conditional use permit (CUP) required to build a drive-through on the property at 6420 Roswell Road that is zoned CX (commercial/mixed use) during its Dec. 19 meeting.
The bank branch is permitted at this location and compatible with the city’s comprehensive plan goals, according to a staff report. The permit will only be valid for a drive-through for a bank on the property.
The Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods objected to more drive-through windows when the city was striving to be more walkable.
“The overarching goal of the master plan is to transition from auto-centric to a true walkable city center,” said Ronda Smith, president of the Council of Neighborhoods. “While staff’s description … of the existing development describes the colorful history of the former Flasher’s site, let’s just call it what it is. It’s a vacant lot.”
The Roswell Road Small Area Plan and the City Springs Master Plan focus on enhancing the pedestrian and bicycle experience with lighting, sidewalks, buffers, and street trees to create a walkable environment, she said.
Alan Andrew, president of the Whispering Pines HOA, said his neighborhood supported the conditional use permit for the bank. Whispering Pines is adjacent to the future bank property immediately to its west.
Fifth Third Bank plans a one-story, 1,900-square-foot building with two drive-through canopies. The 710 square feet of amenity space, which includes an outdoor bench, exceeds requirements by 29 square feet, according to the staff report presented to the council by Planning and Zoning Manager Michelle McIntosh-Ross. The proposal includes 14 parking spaces with two of them outfitted with electric vehicle charging stations.
The transitional buffer proposed by the applicant complies with the Sandy Springs Development Code and includes 6-foot wall panels, a 30-foot landscape buffer, and a 50-foot setback between the west residential property lines of Whispering Pines to the drive-through.
