South Fulton planning commission backs African Diamond sports complex recommendation to council

The City of South Fulton Planning Commission on Sept. 16 voted to recommend that City Council consider a rezoning application from African Diamond Distributors for a proposed multi-sports recreation complex at 2370 Butner Road. The recommendation now moves to the City Council public hearing on Oct. 14 at City Hall.

Staff recommended denying the rezoning application, and Planning Commission members repeatedly raised concerns that updated documentation the applicant said it submitted was not included in the commission packet. Reginald McClendon, the city’s managing director of community development and regulatory affairs, told the commission, “Staff's recommendation has not changed. It is still denial.”

The applicant, Shatore Phillips, said the project team had revised the site plan and other materials and submitted them to staff. Phillips described the proposed facility as about 90,000 square feet and said the project will host regular practices as well as tournaments “six weekends out of the year.” She also said the plan anticipates shared parking arrangements and off-site overflow parking: “We don't foresee us using all of 194 spaces…we have a partnership…we've already reached out to the City of South Fulton Police Department and Traffic Department regarding on our busy tournament days,” Phillips said.

Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff on the parking calculations. In the hearing Phillips said the project requires 453 parking spaces under the zoning standard but that the site design currently shows 194 spaces; the applicant said it expects that shared and managed parking during events will address the shortfall. McClendon told the commission that because variance requests were not filed concurrently with the rezoning application, staff could not process those variances as part of the current packet and that doing so would require restarting the public-notice process.

Commissioners debated whether they could responsibly make a recommendation without the applicant’s revised materials in the packet. One commissioner said the commission does not vote in matters of tie and asked members to keep in mind that the Planning Commission’s recommendation is advisory to City Council. Despite the concerns, the commission took its two required votes (one on staff findings of fact and a second on the application). The commission approved the application recommendation to City Council.

What happens next: the Planning Commission’s favorable recommendation will be transmitted to the City Council for final consideration at the Oct. 14 public hearing. Any zoning relief that depends on variances will require separate processing; McClendon advised the applicant that they could either pursue variances after a rezoning approval by council or refile and advertise the variance requests concurrently, which would extend the timeline.

The record of the hearing shows commissioners asked detailed questions about parking counts, event management, and timelines for variance filings. The commission’s action does not change staff’s recommendation; it forwards the application for the council’s decision.