Planning commission approves sending draft comprehensive plan update to state review amid public concern over density

The City of South Fulton Planning Commission on Sept. 16 approved a motion to send the draft 20-year comprehensive plan update to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for state review. The planning consultant team said the DCA review typically takes about a month; after DCA comments the plan will return for formal adoption hearings scheduled for November (Planning Commission adoption) and December (City Council adoption).

Deanna Murphy of Sizemore Group, the consultant team lead, told the commission the plan is a 20-year growth guideline that includes updated goals, a parcel-level future land use map, a character-area map, and a community work program that assigns near-term priorities to city departments. Murphy said the plan incorporates public engagement over seven community meetings, three pop-up events and online input and that it emphasizes livability, walkability, access to healthy food and parks, and an economic development strategy to retain spending in the city.

The draft introduces higher-density ranges at targeted nodes and corridors to support mixed-use development. For example, the plan recommends mixed-use densities in certain neighborhood nodes of roughly 9 to 15 units per acre, community live/work areas at 15 to 25 units per acre, and regional nodes at 25 to 50 units per acre. The plan also introduces a new “industrial mixed-use” category intended for parcels that transition between industrial and residential uses.

Consultants said the plan also draws from “blue zone” research — an evidence base linking walkability, access to healthy food and social infrastructure to improved longevity — and proposes policies that emphasize health, recreation and community access.

Several members of the public who spoke during the hearing urged caution about increased densities, especially along the Old National Highway corridor and in southern parts of the city. Michael Venable, speaking from a local civic perspective, said higher density alone will not attract higher-quality retail and that traffic and park infrastructure must be addressed before upzoning. “This density is not addressing sprawl…that road can’t handle that,” Venable said. Penny Webster Lewis and other residents told commissioners they were concerned about traffic capacity, school capacity and sewer and utility constraints in areas where the draft increases density.

Murphy responded that the draft targeted major nodes and intersections for higher density and that the transportation plan and later zoning and design-code updates (part of the community work program) would address corridor capacity and design standards. She said the consultant team intends to work with the city on design standards and a zoning rewrite to ensure higher-quality development in key corridors.

The Planning Commission voted to approve the draft updates for transmittal to DCA. The matter will be on the Oct. 14 City Council agenda for review, then sent to DCA; DCA comments will be addressed and the Planning Commission will consider final adoption in November before the council votes on adoption in December.