The Dunwoody City Council at its Sept. 14 meeting held public hearings on four applications that will expand housing, recreation, and medical options throughout the city.
One of the proposals received pushback from nearby residents during a public hearing on a Special Land Use Permit application to allow the addition of a 10,000-square-foot, four-court indoor facility at the Marcus Jewish Community Center.
An outdoor facility containing 12 courts opened in June 2024 as part of an extensive renovation on the 50-acre site that included the construction of an outdoor pool and other amenities.
Several people during public comment at the Sept. 14 meeting said they have been bothered by the court noise generated by outdoor players, including the sound of the ball hitting racquets and the ground, as well as people shouting and cheering. They asked that additional screening and sound-mitigation efforts be installed.
Smith said additional fencing and landscaping will be installed in order to address residents’ concerns, along with other staff conditions.
Nobody spoke in favor of the application, while several residents spoke against it.
A resident who lives in the 16-home Dunwoody Glen subdivision said the MJCCA has violated the conditions laid out when the outdoor courts were built, including the hours of operation and the mitigation efforts.
“We have to be subjected to 14 hours a day hearing, inside our house, the shouting and the noise,” she said. “When the leaves drop, we can see all of the courts.”
Another resident said he was surprised at the removal of mature trees when the courts were built, and that several replacement trees have died.
Council Member Rob Price asked the applicant to address noise issues brought up by the residents before the application is voted upon at the council’s next meeting.
“My question to the MJCCA is, ‘Are you a good neighbor?’ Council Member John Heneghan asked. ‘We are hearing that your neighbors are having a negative impact from the previous project and will have a negative effect in the future. I want to know what you are going to do.”
“I would say we are a good neighbor ‘almost always.’ When we get called out on something, we fix it,” MJCCA Jared Powers said.
Other council members said they are concerned about the results of the previous mitigation study, asking for a new study prior to the matter returning for a second reading on Sept. 28.
Single-family development proposed
Another public hearing concerned a piece of land that straddles Dunwoody and Sandy Springs that is proposed to be redeveloped into three single-family detached homes in Dunwoody and 21 in Sandy Springs.
The Dunwoody Planning Commission meeting on Aug. 11, the panel gave the green light to a rezoning request for the tract of land behind the North Atlanta Church of Christ.
Attorney Den Webb, representing the developer Providence Group of Georgia LLC, said he has heard very little opposition to the project. The Sandy Springs City Council in May approved rezoning similar to Dunwoody’s R-60 designation requested by the applicant.
Nobody spoke either for or against the application at a public hearing. Council members asked clarifying questions about the development, but generally spoke in favor of the application. The matter will come up for a vote at the Sept. 28 meeting.
Lennar development
The council also held a public hearing on a rezoning from Office-Industrial (O-I) to Perimeter Center) (PC-3) to allow for the construction of 33 townhomes on a 3.42-acre site at 4891 Ashford Dunwoody Road, the current site of LifeSouth Blood Bank.
Senior Planner Madalyn Smith said staff recommended approval of the application with eight conditions. Webb, representing the developer Lennar Georgia LLC, said the townhouses will range from 2,800 square feet to 3,000 square feet. It will include an option for elevators to be installed in each unit. The planning commission had unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning at its August meeting.
The council will vote on the proposed rezoning at its Sept. 28 meeting.
SmartMed SLUP
In another rezoning matter, the council heard a request for a Special Land Use Permit at the former PNC Bank site at Ashford Lane in Dunwoody for a drive-through medical practice. The applicant, SmartMed LLC, operates a similar concept in another facility in Roswell.
Smith said staff members foresee no significant impact on traffic from its operation and recommended its approval with several conditions, including restricting the SLUP approval specifically to the medical facility. If the location changes hands, use of the drive-through would require another SLUP.
Smith said staff members foresee no significant impact on traffic from its operation and recommended its approval with several conditions, including restricting the SLUP approval specifically to the medical facility. If the location changes hands, use of the drive-through would require another SLUP.
The planning commission recommended the SLUP application. One person spoke in favor of the proposal, and nobody spoke against it. It will be voted upon at the next council meeting.
In other action, the council:
- swore in Dunwoody’s newest police officer, Lincoln Bailey;
- heard highlights from City Manager Eric Linton’s monthly report;
- appointed John Renals to the Dunwoody Planning Commission;
- tabled an artificial intelligence policy for the city after several questions were raised about the language in it;
- discussed seven facility usage agreements for organizations using the city’s public parks.
