Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst will hold a July 19 town hall meeting to go over the zoning ordinance rewrite with presentations by project managers and time to ask questions. The town hall is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Briarwood Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way.
A draft of the zoning rewrite occurred over the past several months by a steering committee appointed by the mayor and City Council that included residents and business owners. Some of the proposals in the draft include adding mixed-use districts, allowing for the building of cottages or bungalows, adding mixed-used districts and approving concurrent variances.
In addition to the July 19 evening meeting, an additional meeting will take place earlier that day from 9 to 11 a.m. at City Hall, 4362 Peachtree Road.
Other big ideas included in the draft zoning ordinance rewrite include the creation of a new Master Plan Development District that is expected to specifically impact development on Buford Highway. The Master Plan Development District to “accommodate development that may be difficult if not impossible to carry out under otherwise applicable zoning district regulations.”
Any Master Plan Development would have to include a written explanation of how it would serve as a public benefit to the city that can’t be achieved under the allowable zoning regulations. Such a development would also have to provide at least one of the three public benefit thresholds: at least 20 percent workforce housing, a public open space such as a plaza or open park, at least 15 percent of the development protects at least 15 percent of natural resources not counting other required green space mandates, or achieving LEED certification.
The city’s plans are to have the Planning Commission consider the draft at its Aug. 1 meeting and for the City Council to hold two work sessions, on Aug. 14 and Aug. 28, to review and discuss the draft. The Planning Commission would then vote on the draft zoning ordinance rewrite at its Sept. 5 meeting with a final adoption by the City Council set for Sept. 26.
The Zoning Ordinance Rewrite draft is now available through the city website at https://www.brookhavenga.gov/commdev/page/zoning-ordinance-rewrite and through the project website http://www.brookhavenzoning.com.
Comments can be submitted online by creating an account and annotating the document directly through the consultant’s CivicComment site here: https://duncan.civicomment.org/brookhaven-zoning-ordinance.