Public Hearing: YES ☒ NO ☐ Department: Planning & Sustainability
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): 4 and 6
Application of David Metzger to rezone property from R-85 (Residential Medium Lot-85) zoning district to OIT (Office-Institutional-Transitional) zoning district to allow a child daycare center, for more than seven (7) children, at 3970 Norman Road.
Body
PETITION NO: D8-2026-1102 Z-26-1248179
PROPOSED USE: Child daycare, more than seven (7) children.
LOCATION: 3970 Norman Road, Stone Mountain, GA 30083
PARCEL NO. : 18 095 06 072
INFO. CONTACT: Whitney Fuller, Zoning Administrator
PHONE NUMBER: 404-371-2155
PURPOSE:
Application of David Metzger to rezone property from R-85 (Residential Medium Lot-85) zoning district to OIT (Office-Institutional-Transitional) zoning district to allow a child daycare center, for more than seven (7) children.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
COMMUNITY COUNCIL: (Oct. 2026) No Quorum. (Aug. 2026) Approval with a condition.
PLANNING COMMISSION: (Nov. 5, 2026) Pending. (Sept. 1, 2026) Denial.
PLANNING STAFF: (November 2026) Denial.
STAFF ANALYSIS: Under the DeKalb County Code of Ordinances, the range of nonresidential uses permitted within residential zoning districts is limited. A more integrated approach to land use can provide opportunities for complementary services that support the economic, social, and cultural vitality of established residential communities. Locating compatible services within or near residential neighborhoods can also reduce the need for vehicle trips by allowing residents to access certain services closer to home. The proposed program would also be operated by a nonprofit organization and offered at a subsidized cost, increasing access to childcare for families who may otherwise face financial or geographic barriers to this essential service. The provision of accessible childcare and other community-serving services can contribute to the long-term social and economic vitality of a neighborhood. However, the potential benefits of the proposed use must be evaluated against the capacity of the subject property to accommodate the intensity of the proposed activity as submitted. Section 27-4.2.19 of the Zoning Ordinance draws a specific distinction between a “child day care facility” (six (6) or fewer children) and a “child day care center” (seven (7) or more children), and that distinction carries operational consequence: in addition to the off-street parking required by the applicable zoning district, Section 27- 4.2.19 (B) requires that each child day care center provide an adequate on-site turnaround. The proposed site, which would serve approximately 30 children on three weekdays and Sunday, is subject to the childcare center standard, not the lesser standard applicable to a facility serving six or fewer children. Interdepartmental review further indicates that, should the property be rezoned to OIT, the site would be required to comply with the site development and building development standards applicable to a traditional commercial or institutional building, rather than those applicable to a single-family residence. Those standards would be expected to require physical changes to the site and structure that are inconsistent with the Applicant's representation that the residential appearance of the property will be retained with no exterior modifications. This outcome also conflicts with the intent of the supplemental regulations for child day care uses: Section 27-4.2.19(C) provides that the exterior appearance of a child day care facility located in a residential district shall be maintained as a residential structure, with no signs other than those otherwise authorized and no graphics affixed to the exterior or displayed on the premises. Section 27-4.2.19(C) addresses child caring facilities in residential districts, staff finds that the policy it expresses, that childcare in a residential setting should retain a residential character, cannot be reconciled with commercial-standard development of this parcel if rezoned to OIT in the middle of an established single-family neighborhood. While staff finds that a child day care use is, in general, suitable in a residential and Suburban context, the scale of the specific program proposed here, a child day care center serving approximately 30 children, rather than a child day care facility serving six or fewer, exceeds what the subject property's existing site conditions can reasonably accommodate without adverse impact to adjacent and nearby properties and to the surrounding street network. Staff finds that a child-care use is, in principle, compatible with the Suburban character area and with the residential context of the surrounding neighborhood (Finding A of Sec. 27- 7.3.5). However, the application as submitted does not demonstrate that the subject property, at Prepared by: Whitney Fuller Page 5 Z-26-1248179 approximately 1.13 acres with only four (4) off-street parking spaces and no on-site turnaround, can accommodate a child day care center serving approximately 30 children without adverse impact to adjacent and nearby residential properties and to the surrounding street network (Findings B, D, and G of Sec. 27- 7.3.5). The scale of the proposed program places it well above the six-child threshold that distinguishes a child day care facility from a child day care center under Section 27-4.2.19, triggering the childcare center-level requirement for an adequate on-site turnaround - a requirement the application does not satisfy. Absent a substantially revised site plan demonstrating adequate on-site parking, turnaround, and queuing capacity proportionate to the scale of the proposed program, staff cannot find that the proposal avoids an unmitigated hardship on surrounding streets and adjoining properties. Therefore, based on review of the applicable criteria under Section 27-7.3.5 of the DeKalb County Zoning Ordinance, it is the recommendation of the Planning & Sustainability Department that this application be “Denied”.
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: (November 5, 2026) Pending. (September 1, 2026) Denial 7-0-0. Commissioner Osler moved, Commissioner Costello seconded for denial. Commissioner Murphy was not present for this vote.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL VOTE/RECOMMENDATION: (October 2026) No Quorum. Members present voted for Denial (6-0-0). (August 2026) Approval (6-0-2) with the condition that the Applicant be restricted from any land disturbance.