The Brookhaven Planning Commission has officially recommended approval on the city’s City Centre Master Plan at its Wednesday meeting.
The Planning Commission heard a presentation of the Brookhaven City Centre Master Plan at its April 7 meeting. The “City Centre” project is part of the city’s 2034 Comprehensive Master Plan and is meant to create a framework for a possible downtown area and guide future developments in the commercial area along Peachtree Road.
The city held a series of public meetings about the project last year and initially presented a draft of the plan to the public at a Jan. 26 meeting. The plan was presented to the Planning Commission.
Before the commission recommended approval on the master plan, they added an amendment to ask the Brookhaven City Council to consider a couple of items. The first was to consider amending the name of the study from “City Centre” to something more representative of the character of the area. The City Centre plan has been presented as less of a condensed downtown area and more of a linear group of parks, public spaces, and developments connected by a network of trails. The commission suggested names like “village” instead of City Centre.
The second consideration was for the council to request more detail on how a proposed multi-use trail in the plan will be shared equally between pedestrians and cyclists. The third consideration was to consider more detail about how single-family residential units might be affected along Apple Valley Road. During the meeting, consultants for the project said they had started to consider moving entertainment districts away from that section of the city due to the amount of single-family residences in the area.
“We’ve moved away from that. The reason for that is the proximity of the single family housing over there,” said Bob Huges of the architectural firm HGOR. “You get a vibrant entertainment district, and you’ve got noise, you’ve got parking issues …We think there are different places for that kind of entertainment to go.”
The study presented at the meeting contains three “catalyst projects” for the city to consider.
The first project suggests setting aside part of Brookhaven Park for a new city hall and creating 3.5 acres of improved park space in the area. The project also suggests constructing a pedestrian and cyclist bridge from Peachtree Road to Apple Valley Road to give east side neighborhoods direct access to the west side of Peachtree Road. The project proposes that the existing dog park could be relocated to a proposed Apple Valley green space.
The second project involves constructing a second pedestrian bridge that links Town Brookhaven to neighborhoods east of Peachtree Road. The plan suggests 3.5 acres of public park space to each end of the pedestrian bridge. This project would continue through the Apple Valley district of the city.
The final catalyst project is a multi-use trail along the west side of Peachtree Road to improve north to south connectivity along Peachtree Road. This project would require a lane reduction of Peachtree Road, as well as a traffic analysis and closer study of the right of way. This trail would also connect the pedestrian crossings that move across Peachtree Road.
The resolution for the City Centre plan is expected to go before the Brookhaven City Council at its April 26 meeting. A video of the meeting and a document detailing the plan can be viewed on the city’s website.