Brookhaven Heights neighbors are hoping a new developer will be able to come up with a more agreeable plan to build townhomes on North Druid Hills Road.
Several residents in the neighborhood went on the offensive after an application was filed with the city to rezone the property and build a high-density townhome development on 3.9 acres at 1475 North Druid Hills Road, now the site of the North Atlanta Gospel Chapel.
The original developer is no longer working with the property owner. David Smith is now the developer for the project, said attorney Doug Dillard.
Dillard said Smith is working on a new plan.
“We have had some meetings with the neighborhood and heard their concerns about drainage and traffic and some of the environmental issues,” Dillard said. “We’re addressing all of those concerns, and think we’ll have a plan that will not only address those concerns, but be acceptable to the neighborhood and city council.”
Resident Linda Gartland said she is hopeful that if the application is approved, it will set a positive precedent for development along North Druid Hills Road.
“While we would have preferred single family homes on the property, we hope that, if rezoned, the developer follows through in a conscientious and appealing manner to produce something we can be proud of,” Gartland said in an email. “That being said, we are concerned about the precedent this development might set for other parts of North Druid Hills in terms of higher density housing.”
Councilman Bates Mattison, who represents the area, said he has received calls from his constituents in the area about the proposed townhomes.
“The initial feedback that I’ve gotten has been somewhat negative,” Mattison said. “But that was based on an original developer’s proposal and meeting the original developer had had over that. That proposal has been pulled and it’s not even a potential on what’s going to happen there now.”
The council voted to defer a vote on the rezoning for 60 days. Mattison said once the new proposal is filed, it will go before Brookhaven’s Planning Commission July 9 and then back to the council.
“We want to make sure neighbors know about it,” Mattison said. “They aren’t always going to agree with it, but we want to make sure they’re informed. But if there’s an overwhelming opposition, it’s our responsibility to listen to their concerns.”