Public Hearing: YES ☒ NO ☐ Department: Planning & Sustainability
SUBJECT:
Title
COMMISSION DISTRICT(S): 4 & 6
Application of Kyle Williams & Williams Teusink, LLC to amend the Land Use Plan from Suburban (SUB) to Regional Center (RC) to allow the construction of single-family attached townhomes and single-family cottages. at 3581 Rockbridge Road.
Body
PETITION NO: D3. LP-21-1243933 2021-2109
PROPOSED USE: Single-family attached townhomes and single-family cottages.
LOCATION: 3581 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain, Ga.
PARCEL NO.: 18-011-06-001, 18-011-06-004, 18-011-06-005, 18-011-06-006, 18-011-06-007
INFO. CONTACT: Brian Brewer, Sr. Planner
PHONE NUMBER: 404-371-2155
PURPOSE:
Application of Kyle Williams & Williams Teusink, LLC to amend the Land Use Plan from Suburban (SUB) to Regional Center (RC) to allow the construction of single-family attached townhomes and single-family cottages. The property is located on the south side of Rockbridge Road and the east side of Interstate 285, at 3605, 3611, 3599, 3593, & 3581 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. The property has approximately 623 feet of frontage on Rockbridge Road and contains 4.8 acres.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
COMMUNITY COUNCIL: June 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral; April 2021 - Deferral; Feb. 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral.
PLANNING COMMISSION: July 8, 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral. May 6, 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral. March 2, 2021 - Denial.
PLANNING STAFF: Approval.
STAFF ANALYSIS: The Memorial Drive Corridor Study was adopted in September 2020. The subject parcels are within the boundary of the Gateway West Focus Area identified in the report. The Action Plan section of the report includes recommendations intended to realize the vision of the study exercise. One primary recommendation was to amend the Character Area of each focus area to better accommodate the types of uses demanded from residents and stakeholders. These parcels fall within the boundary of an area recommended be changed to the Regional Center Character Area. According to the report, Gateway West is viewed as having, the broadest potential to become an area attracting regional interest. Therefore, the vision for this part of the corridor is an urban center to include a mix of land uses. Ideas discussed at the Design Workshops included: (1) Retail (2) Restaurants (3) Greenspaces (4) Public Squares (5) Office Space (6) Apartments (7) Cultural and/or Theatre A recent conversation in DeKalb County is the potential need for a civic or convention center that could host everything from High School graduations to professional conferences and festivals. As a relatively central location within DeKalb County (just east of the Kensington area, where the attraction of a centralized location has led to discussions about consolidation of County offices and services) with strong transportation access via I-285 and nearby MARTA heavy rail stations at Kensington and Indian Creek, this site is a strong candidate for such a consideration. Such an investment would be generally consistent with the idea of having a cultural and/or theatre component of any redevelopment here and would likewise be a particularly strong anchor for the mix of uses envisioned. The proposal for Townhomes homes does align with the ‘Outer-Ring’ Preferred Intensity Concept for Activity Center Development in the 2035 Comprehensive Plan. And the requested amendment for Regional Center to accommodate the proposed project is consistent with the Memorial Drive Corridor Study report recommendation that the Character Area be amended to Regional Center. For these reasons, Staff’s recommendation for this Future Land Plan Map Amendment application is “Approval.”
PLANNING COMMISSION VOTE: July 8, 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral 5-1-0. LaSonya Osler moved, Vivian Moore seconded for Full Cycle Deferral, per Staff recommendation. Tess Snipes opposed; April Atkins was not present at the time of the vote. May 6, 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral 7-0-1. LaSonya Osler moved, Jana Johnson seconded for Full Cycle Deferral. Lauren Blaszyk abstained. March 2, 2021 - Denial 7-2-0. L. Osler moved, J. Johnson seconded for denial, per Staff recommendation. J. West and P. Womack, Jr. opposed.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL VOTE/RECOMMENDATION: June 2021 - Full Cycle Deferral 13-0-0. Per the applicant’s request to allow sufficient time to revise site plan, taking into account comments from the public and community council from the last round of meetings. April 2021 - Deferral 12-0-0; Feb. 2021 - Full-cycle Deferral 12-0-0. There was concern and discussion about traffic impacts on Rockbridge Road; and the Council wanted to see the results and recommendations of a Traffic Impact Study. Additionally, the Council was concerned about how the comprehensive plan update would impact the future land use character area of these properties.