The Dunwoody City Council at its March 13 meeting spent hours listening to both sides regarding a controversial special land use permit (SLUP) application that would clear the way for the construction of a personal care home at 1822 Mt. Vernon Road.
The council took no action after hearing from both sides, as well as a staff analysis, which recommended its passage. It will come to a vote at the next council meeting.
Neighbors and concerned residents have expressed their opposition to the facility’s construction at several public events, including a recent Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting and the city’s planning commission.
The property owners, Anna Khoklan and Roman Khoklan, have request the SLUP to allow the construction of a 6,800-square foot, seven-resident personal care home called Legacy Manor on Mt. Vernon Road on a half-acre site that formerly housed a single-family residence.
A report submitted to council at the first hearing from the Dunwoody Planning Commission said at its Feb. 14 meeting that the panel had extended the public comment time period twice to accommodate the attendees who wanted to speak on the matter.
“There were two commenters in support of the application, and the remainder were in opposition,” the report said. “The major concerns that were communicated were concerns around the size of the property, the number of requested parking spaces, traffic, stormwater, lot coverage, and the size of the proposed home.”
Despite the fact that several members of the planning commission had suggested deferring the matter because of their concerns about stormwater, fencing, vegetative screening and the size of the property, one of the commissioners, Scott Brown, moved to approve the SLUP with some amendments, the report said.
The amendment said that if the home is not under construction within one year of the approval of the SLUP, the walls and foundation of the previously demolished home must be removed and the site permanently stabilized.
The permit passed 4-3 with the amended language, according to the report.
The presentation package included letters and emails from residents concerning the matter, including two letters of support and at least a dozen in opposition. Most of the people who spoke during public comment at the beginning of the meeting, as well as during the public hearing, were opposed to its passage.
In other news, the council:
- Read a proclamation announcing that March is National Kidney Month;
- Appointed Michael Herman to fill a vacant spot on the Dunwoody Development Authority;
- Approved a contract with the DeKalb CSB to provide a Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician for the Dunwoody Police Department