Public Hearing: YES ☒ NO ☐ Department: Planning & Sustainability
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): 5 and 7
Application of Erin Royster for a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) for child daycare facility for up to six children in the R-75 (Residential Medium Lot-75) zoning district, at 3887 Kirksford Drive.
Body
PETITION NO: N8-2026-1107 SLUP-26-1248186
PROPOSED USE: Child daycare facility, up to six (6).
LOCATION: 3887 Kirksford Drive, Decatur, GA 30035
PARCEL NO. : 15 189 03 002
INFO. CONTACT: Lucas Carter, Planner
PHONE NUMBER: 404-371-2155
PURPOSE:
Application of Erin Royster for a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) for child daycare facility for up to six children in the R-75 (Residential Medium Lot-75) zoning district.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
COMMUNITY COUNCIL: (August 2026) Denial.
PLANNING COMMISSION: (September 1, 2026) Pending.
PLANNING STAFF: (September 2026) Approval with Conditions.
STAFF ANALYSIS: The 0.25-acre property is zoned R-75 and is surrounded by R-75 detached residences. Section 27-4.1.3 (Table 4.1) identifies a child day care facility for up to six children as a special use in R-75; Section 27-4.2.19 contains the applicable supplemental requirements. The application describes a Family Child Care Learning Home serving primarily infants, toddlers, and pre-school-aged children. Proposed activities include supervised play, early learning, reading, arts and crafts, meals and snacks, rest, and outdoor recreation. The stated hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The application identifies one owner/operator, no exterior building addition, use of existing indoor rooms and patio/rear-yard areas, staggered arrivals and departures, and approximately four off-street driveway spaces. The property photographs show that the structure retains the appearance of a single-family residence and that the side/rear yard is fenced. The nearest personal-care-home/childcare-institution location as approximately 4,224 feet away and satisfies Section 27-4.2.19(D) which prohibits a child day care facility within 1,000 feet of another child day care facility. Kirksford Drive is classified as a local street. Interdepartmental comments identify standard sight-distance, permitting, public-health, and licensing requirements but no use-specific street, utility, or drainage deficiency. The application includes notice of a June 3, 2026, virtual community meeting, and the materials reviewed do not document substantive public opposition. Formal Community Council and public-hearing input should be incorporated into the final record as received. The proposal is materially less intensive than a child day care center serving seven or more children. It would operate within an existing residence, retain the residential exterior, and generate short-duration arrival and departure trips rather than continuous commercial traffic. Conditions limiting enrollment, hours, staffing, on-site pickup and drop-off, signs, exterior changes, outdoor activity, and transfer of the approval can keep the use at the residential scale represented in the application. Section 27-4.2.19 requires State licensing and inspection, a County business license, required off-street parking, a residential exterior, compliant signage, and 1,000-foot separation from another child day care facility. Section 27-7.4.7(C) additionally requires review of screening for parking/outdoor play, a safe pickup/drop-off location, and compatibility of the exterior structure with the residential district. The existing driveway, fenced yard, and unchanged residence appear capable of meeting these standards, subject to verification and the recommended conditions. The DeKalb 2050 Comprehensive Land Use Plan describes the Suburban Character Area as established low-density development where new activity should improve connectivity while preserving neighborhood character and greenspace (p. 41). The Plan generally protects stable single-family patterns from incompatible nonresidential intrusion. Here, however, the Zoning Ordinance specifically allows a six-child facility through individualized SLUP review, and the use would remain inside the home without changing the established development pattern. With the recommended limitations, the proposal functions as a small neighborhood-serving service and is consistent with the SUB policy. The proposed child day care facility is limited to six children, would remain inside an existing detached residence, and is supported by weekday daytime hours, a fenced outdoor area, driveway parking, and staggered pickup/drop-off. The use can operate at a residential scale without changing the established R-75/SUB development pattern. Therefore, based on Sections 27-7.4.6 and 27-7.4.7(C), the supplemental regulations in Section 27-4.2.19, and the Suburban Character Area policy of the DeKalb 2050 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (p. 41), the Planning & Sustainability Department recommends “Approval with the attached conditions”.
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: (September 1, 2026) Pending.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL VOTE/RECOMMENDATION: (August 2026) Denial 6-0-0.