Public Hearing: YES ☒ NO ☐ Department: Planning & Sustainability
SUBJECT:
Title
COMMISSION DISTRICT(S): 3 and 6
Application of Safe Haven Transitional, Inc. c/o Battle Law, P.C. for a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to allow an office building in Tier 5 Corridor 1 of the Bouldercrest Overlay District and the C-1 (Local Commercial) zoning district, at 2001 River Road.
Body
PETITION NO: N7-2026-1266 SLUP-26-1248280
PROPOSED USE: Two-story office building.
LOCATION: 2001 River Road, Ellenwood, GA 30294
PARCEL NO. : 15 053 03 001
INFO. CONTACT: John Reid, Sr. Planner
PHONE NUMBER: 404-371-2155
PURPOSE:
Application of Safe Haven Transitional, Inc. c/o Battle Law, P.C. for a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to allow an office building in Tier 5 Corridor 1 of the Bouldercrest Overlay District and the C-1 (Local Commercial) zoning district.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
COMMUNITY COUNCIL: (Oct. 2026) Full cycle deferral.
PLANNING COMMISSION: (Nov. 5, 2026) Approval with a Condition.
PLANNING STAFF: (November 2026) Approval_revised 11.09.2026
STAFF ANALYSIS: The Subject Property carries a Suburban (SUB) land use designation under the DeKalb County 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan’s Suburban character area expressly allows “limited nonresidential development, such as small mixed-use developments outside of existing, stable single-family neighborhoods, particularly in locations with high levels of pedestrian connectivity, to meet the needs of surrounding residents.” A two-story professional office at the intersection of Bouldercrest Road and River Road is precisely the type of limited, neighborhood-serving non-residential use envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan. The proposal also advances the Comprehensive Plan’s guiding principles of focusing development intensity in existing developed areas with infrastructure capacity and supporting activity centers and corridors. The Board of Commissioners approved a text amendment to allow office use as a SLUP within a single-family tier of the BOD (Tier 5 Corridor 1) (TA-26-1248067) on July 7, 2026. That text amendment indicated that “limited office uses, when subject to a Special Land Use Permit, strict eligibility and access criteria, and additional safeguards, may be compatible with Tier V when carefully reviewed”. The revised conceptual plan (see attached) shows compliance with all of the BOD Tier 5 office criteria, including “Section 3 Criteria A through C” (Eligibility and Access Requirements), and “Section 4 Criteria A through E and F through I” (Additional Tier V Office Supplemental Regulations). While the original plan only depicted a 15-foot buffer along the rear property line, the revised plan shows the required 30-foot buffer as required by “Section 4, Criteria E” of the office supplemental regulations in the Bouldercrest Overlay District. Therefore, it appears there is adequate land area to accommodate the proposed office building since the review plan shows compliance with all of the office supplemental regulations within Tier 5 of the BOD. Therefore, based on review of Section 3 Criteria A through C, and Section 4 Criteria A through K of the Tier 5 office criteria of the BOD, and review of Section 27-7.4.6 A (Adequacy of the site), and B (Compatibility), it is the recommendation of the Planning & Sustainability Department that the application be, “Approved ”.
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: (November 5, 2026) Approval with Conditions 5-0-0. Motion was made by Costello, seconded by Commissioner Cooper for approval with the condition that the inter-departments of the County review & find no problem with the revised plan. Commissioner Zou was not present for this vote.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL VOTE/RECOMMENDATION: (Oct. 2026) Full-Cycle Deferral (8-0-0) to allow the Small Area Plan(s) for the area to be completed and allow the application to be reviewed for consistency with those SAPs.