After hearing nearly 50 minutes of comment from the petitioners and the community, the Decatur City Commission unanimously denied the subdivision of the Oakhurst Dog Park last night.  (You can view the video HERE)

Before voting, Mayor Jim Baskett made the following statement…

“We have always been very protective of personal property rights on this commission. I personally have been very protective of personal property rights as long as I’ve been on this commission. So we have to have very good and very strong reasons to deny petitioner’s use of their property in any kind of way.  In this particular instance we’re being asked – or some people have thought – that we had the power to keep the Boys & Girls Club from selling the property.  We don’t.  Or that we had the power that we could do this or that or the other.  But we don’t.”

“The question it comes down to is ‘Do we subdivide this property based on four simple standards?’  And I look at the standards as a suitable use of the property in comparison to the adjacent properties. Is it adversely affecting the use of adjacent properties or even their future uses?  Does it cause a problem with the streets or transportation facilities, utilities or schools?  In general, does it have an impact on the public health, safety, morality or the general welfare of the community?”

“And when I think about those beautiful trees and when I think about the use of this property for the last – at least -100 years.  [Indiscernible] This is a public service really that the Boys and Girls Club offers and that’s why it was sold at the time it was sold and the way it was sold.  Because it would continue to be a public service use.  And when I look at the way it’s been used and I look at what could be lost here, the potential loss here, with just so little to gain, I can’t personally come to any other conclusion that this not in the general best welfare of our community at large.”

“Public safety may be a factor here with traffic.  Public Health.  But the main thing is the general welfare of our community.  I just don’t believe that a subdivision of that property is good for the general welfare of our community.  That just where I come down.”

Following the Mayor’s remarks, Commissioner Garrett moved for denial, which was seconded by Mayor Pro-Tem Cunningham.  As stated above, the final vote was unanimous.

Just a note to make you aware: tonight the Decatur City Commission will take up the request to subdivide the Oakhurst Dog Park property to create two residential lots on the western, wooded end of the property.

Last month, the Decatur Planning Commission recommended against the request citing that the project adversely affected the “greater public good” and would increase water runoff.

UPDATE: Looks like the AJC just posted a note about this development as well in the last 30 mins.  It reports there have been “two potential options” previously revealed by Weaver Capital…

One includes building two homes on the .6 acres and donating the triangle property to the city as a dog park (which surrounding neighbors oppose). The second includes building one larger home leaving only the lower portion as a dog park, while the triangle property may or may not become a dog park.

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Another item of note from last week’s Planning Commission meeting – the Decatur Planning Commission again tabled an application by Weaver Capital to subdivide the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta property at 450 East Lake Drive, creating two residential lots.

The applicant requested the item be tabled until May so that they could find “a solution to develop the property that was agreeable to the community.”, according to the meeting minutes.  The request was already tabled once late last year and then removed from the agenda back in February.

Planning Director Amanda Thompson noted that because the request to table this month was late, “The applicant could not defer in writing, but needed to appear at the advertised public hearing.”

Ms. Thompson then noted that “the Planning Commission could hold the public hearing and allow comment.”, which they did.  Nine local residents spoke in relation to the request.

The commission then voted unanimously to table the item until May.  But according to the minutes, Commissioner Tony Powers “stated that the Planning Commission would be unlikely to table this item again.”

The Decatur Planning Commission has a packed agenda in April.

Another item of note on the agenda – the commission will again take up an application by Weaver Capital to subdivide the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta property at 450 East Lake Drive, creating two residential lots.

The proposal requests that the parcel be subdivided and two R-60 residential lots be created on the hilly western side of the lot.  The eastern lawn area – leased by the City of Decatur from the Boys & Girls Club for $1 a year – would remain part of the Oakhurst Dog Park.

The item was tabled by the Planning Commission late last year to allow the neighborhood and the Boys & Girls Club an opportunity to come to an agreement. (WABE summarized the issues at hand back in February March.) The application was withdrawn from the Planning Commission’s February meeting agenda by the applicants and has since been resubmitted for their April 14th meeting.

Map courtesy of Planning Commission Meeting Materials

While much of the 315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue property has changed quite dramatically over the last couple of years, the one holdout has been the Wells Fargo drive-thru that’s long-remained on the eastern elevation of the property, due to a long-standing lease.

Now it sounds like Redstone, the property’s current owner is looking to swap out the banking drive-thru and ATM with a new concept.

A drive-thru juice bar.

On the agenda for the Decatur Planning Commission this month, a request from Redstone for “an exception to the special pedestrian area” to build a drive-thru juice bar in place of the Wells Fargo drive-thru.

Redstone’s note to the Planning Commission states that they plan to reduce the number of drive-thru lanes from four to just the one closest to the building to accommodate the new business.  In exchange for removing three of the four drive-thru lanes, Redstone is requesting 9 new angled parking spaces fronting Ponce de Leon Place.

Redstone’s note to the commission states that the parking space would be buffered by “newly installed landscaping between the sidewalk and asphalt area.”

The proposed plan is going before the Planning Commission because Decatur’s special pedestrian area regulations do not permit parking between a building and the street or “drive through facilities” within the Special Pedestrian Zone, which includes this stretch of Ponce Place.  However, the commission can grant an exception after a public hearing, in consideration of the following standards:

1. The suitability of the proposed exception in view of the use and development of adjacent and nearby property.

2. The effect that the proposed exception will have on the existing use or usability of adjacent or nearby property.

3. The impact that the proposed development will have on the public safety, traffic on the public streets, transportation facilities, utilities and other public services.

4. The impact that the proposed development will have on established property values and on the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of the residents of the city.

5. The economic or marketing impact that these guidelines may have on the property owner or developer.

Photos and plan images courtesy of the Decatur Planning Commission agenda materials packet

Working with the Decatur Planning Commission, a build plan for Grind House Killer Burgers at a new location at 433 North McDonough Street location in downtown Decatur is before the Decatur City Commission this evening.

After making adjustments at the recommendation of the Planning Commission (removing several parking spaces to comply with the required set back from the street frontage; providing front door access from the street frontage instead of the parking lot; and reconfiguring the outdoor patio), Grind House folks are seeking an exemption to the Pedestrian Area Regulations to keep the two existing curb cuts at the site.

Planning Director Amanda Thompson writes in a letter that the Planning Commission actually believes “the narrow one-way driveways located on either side of the building actually provide a safer experience for pedestrians”.

You can also check out a site plan below, which is also included in the meeting materials.

I’ve been meaning to post this ever since the Decatur City Commission meeting in late May when Commissioner Fred Boykin asked Planning Director Amanda Thompson about the status of the project.  Looks like Ralph beat me to it!

Tonight, the Decatur Planning Commission will consider rezoning the south parking lot at Avondale MARTA station as Mixed Use, under the 2009 changes to the zoning ordinance.  (Meeting materials HERE!)  We mentioned this revised plan back in March, in case you missed it.

MARTA and Decatur have done this dance before, resulting in the confusingly named Avondale LCI Master Plan.  According to sources a few years back, the plan was never executed because MARTA backed out, but now there’s a new MARTA-stration (MARTA + adminstration – get it?) and they have already publicly stated that they’re more aggressively pursuing transit-friendly development around existing stations.

The Patch article linked to above quotes Asst. City Manager Lyn Menne saying that there’s no current developer for the site, and that this rezoning just defines what the city “wants to see happen at the site.”

Rendering from the 2005 Avondale LCI Master Plan courtesy of the City’s Website