Michelle Battle, attorney for the petitioner, told a Stonecrest Community Planning Information Meeting on Aug. 14 that the owner of the parcel at 2374 Cove Lake Road is seeking a rezoning and map amendment from MR‑1 (medium‑density residential 1) to MR‑2 to allow a proposed townhome development of 63 fee‑simple units.

The change would let the developer build townhomes with 20‑foot minimum lot widths rather than the 25‑foot minimum that the city’s current zoning code applies to MR‑1. Battle said the property was rezoned years ago under DeKalb County rules as RM‑100 and approved for 63 fee‑simple townhomes subject to 14 conditions in February 2007, and “once the property has been rezoned and the conditions have been set, it runs with the land.”

The rezoning matter matters to nearby homeowners because residents said they remain concerned about runoff, stormwater infrastructure and safety at the development’s single proposed entry point on Cove Lake Road. “That Cove Lake in that whole area has a draining problem,” resident Sandra Brown said, asking for detail on how underground detention would be sized and managed. Battle replied that the project will use underground detention vaults rather than visible ponds and that a hydrology study and civil‑engineer design will be required during permitting: “We are, by law, required not to make it worse,” she said.

Battle described the proposed layout as similar to the plan approved under the 2007 zoning, with rear‑entry townhome units served by internal alleys, a pocket park, a 50‑foot transitional buffer along the existing Cove Lake homes, and a 2,000‑square‑foot greenway around the property perimeter. She said the site has access to public sanitary sewer through an existing easement and that mail kiosks and sidewalks are planned.

Residents pressed several other issues: traffic and safety at the Covington Highway/Cove Lake Road intersection, the desirability of a second access point, and how changes since 2007 (including a nearby 24‑hour convenience/gas station) affect neighborhood safety. Marty Garrison, a Cove Lake resident, said the neighborhood has changed “tremendously” since 2007 and called the single entry “a safety issue.” Marilyn Sharkey, who lives two houses from the proposed entrance, urged the developer to consider a playground rather than a dog park and said she opposes a single access point for safety reasons.

Battle said the petitioner is willing to discuss site details with the community and to return with additional civil‑engineering information; she also said the developer previously considered a storage facility on the site but could not pursue that option after Stonecrest changed its code to limit self‑storage outside industrial areas. The Planning & Zoning staff closed public comment on this application at the meeting and said the rezoning case will proceed to the Planning Commission on Sept. 2 and, if recommended, to Mayor and City Council on Sept. 22 for final action.

The meeting record shows the discussion was informational only; no formal planning decision or vote occurred at the CPIM.