Atlanta’s long-running rewrite of its zoning code faced scrutiny at an Oct. 15 work session as an expert commissioned by the city presented her critique of the proposal.
Sara C. Bronin, a law professor and founder of the National Zoning Atlas, said in a June analysis that the 981-page ATL Zoning 2.0 draft is too long, too complex, and does too little to expand housing options. The zoning committee voted in September to hold the proposed code while revisions are made.
Zoning 2.0 is the legal document that allows for implementation of Plan A, the city’s Comprehensive Development Plan, which sets long-term goals for housing, walkability, and preservation. If adopted, it would replace code written in 1982 when the city was experiencing “white flight,” a large-scale departure of white residents to the suburbs.
Calling Zoning 2.0 confusing and complicated, Bronin compared Atlanta to similar-sized cities across the U.S., like Raleigh, NC, Charlotte, NC, and Austin, TX.
While “the current code falls short,” Bronin wrote in her analysis, the draft fails to advance the city’s economic mobility goals, creates a confusing permitting system and does not ensure diverse housing will actually be built. With 240 distinct neighborhoods in the city, the code is difficult for the average property owner and the city’s administration to understand, she found.
Bronin’s recommendation is to create a shorter code with fewer districts, more diverse types of housing, and a better-connected, walkable city. She suggests:
- Allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to make Atlanta’s zoning code more progressive and reflective of national trends
- Allow land on and around the Beltline and MARTA stations to develop multifamily housing.
- Eliminate parking mandates to encourage public transportation use.
- Protect and preserve historic buildings erected 75-plus years ago.
Bronin said she had not yet reviewed zoning for gas stations, car washes, drive-thrus, food deserts and stormwater management. The draft will be updated as Bronin and her team continue to receive feedback from city offices.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Council member Byron Amos said he doubts District 3 residents want multi-unit apartment buildings “built on single family lots right next door to my grandmother or someone who has overcome redlining, overcome segregation, overcome everything in the world to buy their little plot of dirt in a single-family neighborhood.”
“All politics are local,” Amos said, adding that Zoning 2.0 misses the mark. “I would be really surprised if my constituents ask for density in my district in such a way.”
Preserving quality of life for legacy residents was a major concern from several council members. Sixty years ago, Black residents were redlined out of living in Adams Park and Collier Heights, Amos’ district.
“Atlanta has a unique history and a unique story to tell, and we have to consider those dynamics when we’re doing this kind of work,” Amos said. “We [went] through this historical, dynamic change that allowed entry to those communities, and now they’re full of huge lots, and some of them have really huge homes on them. I want to make sure that we are fairly and equitably considering the characteristics of those neighborhoods.”
Jason Dozier, council member for District 4 neighborhoods including West End and Mechanicsville, said Atlanta needed to address the housing shortage decades ago, and is now “playing catch up to be the city that we know we could be.”
“[Zoning 2.0] is putting Atlanta back on the path that we should have been years ago, versus uprooting or disrupting the the essence of our communities that people feel are being left behind when we build multifamily housing,” Dozier said.
Council member Kelsea Bond said Zoning 2.0 is the city’s opportunity to promote walkability, mobility, climate sustainability and affordability.
“In so many ways, being a blue city in a red state, we are very much constrained by state law. We cannot enact rent freezes or rent control in the city of Atlanta,” Bond said. “This is one of the unique opportunities we have where zoning regulations are not preempted by the state law, and I think it’s really important that we use every tool in our toolbox to promote density and affordability while we still can.”
Thousands of Atlanta residents have already engaged with the proposed changes from community ambassadors to Neighborhood Planning Units, according to the city.
“You can be comfortable that what’s expressed in Plan A is what our city wants for its future,” City Planning Commissioner Jahnee Prince said.
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