Both InDecatur and the DNO report that Decatur’s Zoning Board of Appeals concurred with the city staff ruling last night that the Peer Support and Wellness Center could continue operation on an R-60 piece of property.

Both outlets reported a 3-2 vote, with Board Chair Mark Burnette, Neil Dobbs, and David Goldberg voting to uphold the zoning administrators decision, and Kyle Williams and Neil Norton voting to overturn it.

According to the DNO’s excellent recap, Burnette summed up the issue at hand by asking “Is this a use that would fundamentally alter the character of an R-60 zoning district?”, noting that there were other allowable public uses where folks came and went “all the time.”  Federal law, permits, and missteps along the way by all parties involved were also discussed.

Those who wish to challenge the board’s ruling now have the option of appealing the case to the State Superior Court.

Decatur Heights resident Dave Kell of InDecatur notes that tonight is the night when Decatur’s Zoning Board of Appeals will make its decision regarding the legality of the Peer Support and Wellness Center at 444 Sycamore Drive.  The meeting begins at 7:30pm.

According to tonight’s ZBA agenda (pdf), there’s only one front-yard zoning variance request prior to the 444 Sycamore agenda item.  The board will discuss the issue and then announce their decision.

No comments will be taken.

Dave reports over on recently resurrected Decatur Heights blog…

Prior to last evening’s Zoning Board of Appeals, City Manager Peggy Merriss (in the absence of Planning Director Amanda Thompson) submitted a memo requesting the ZBA request the City Commission to authorize a legal review of the Peer Support and Recovery Respite Center at 444 Sycamore Drive by an outside attorney specializing in zoning and land use law.

The request was approved.

Over at InDecatur, Dave reports that after months of consultation and deliberation, city staff has made a final recommendation to the City Commission regarding the zoning controversy surrounding the Peer Support and Recovery Respite Center at 444 Sycamore Drive.

Quoting at length from a letter of affirmation received from the Executive Director of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network in response to questions posed by Decatur’s Planning Director Amanda Thompson, City Manager Peggy Merriss informed commissioners “that the decision of the zoning administrator to allow the Peer Support and Wellness Center to operate a family home is appropriate.”

However, in the very next breath, the letter alerts residents “aggrieved” by the decision that they can still appeal the decision of the zoning administrator to Decatur’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Some of those very residents wasted little time speaking out about the city’s decision at last night’s city commission meeting.  Whether they will appeal the city’s decision remains unclear, as Grace Ann Young, who has spoken as the “aggrieved” residents’ representative up until this point, did not detail next steps in her comments to the commission.  But blogger Dave Kell, a Decatur Heights resident himself, promised his readers that “This matter is not going to fade away quietly.”