Owner seeks setback variances for triangular parcel on Stone Mountain‑Lithonia Road to enable commercial flex‑space

At the April 10 Community Planning Information Meeting, Patrick Kelly of MKI/AMK Properties asked the City of Stonecrest to grant two variances from the nonresidential dimensional requirements so the owner can build commercial flex space on a triangular parcel at the intersection of Coffee Road and Stone Mountain‑Lithonia Road.

Kelly said the site is an unusual triangular lot with a cell‑tower easement and that historical changes to nearby road connections left Coffee Road as a dead‑end, making the original 60‑foot front and side setbacks particularly constraining. He asked the city to reduce the Coffee Road setback to 20 feet and to allow a 30‑foot relief for a jog in the Lithonia Road alignment so the developer can create a straight building line on Lithonia and fit two buildings of roughly 20,000 square feet combined.

Kelly said usable area on the site is significantly less than the total acreage he owns; he estimated gross ownership at about two acres but said the usable portion is closer to three‑quarters to one acre once setbacks and buffers are considered. He described prior site conditions, cleanup work his firm completed and ongoing coordination with AT&T for easement access to an on‑site cell tower. Kelly said the developer plans on typical flex‑type construction with brick facades and interior movable partitions so suites can be combined or divided by future tenants.

Staff asked about detention and stormwater; Kelly said the design anticipates a vault‑style underground detention under pavement in the lower left corner of the site and that on‑site detention will comply with Stonecrest development standards. Staff also asked whether AT&T has been engaged; Kelly said initial conversations had occurred and that AT&T’s real‑estate group requires preserved access but generally is agreeable to revised access arrangements.

The applicant said he was not seeking rezoning and intends to remain in a manufacturing/nonresidential district; the variance request is limited to dimensional relief. No formal action was taken at the CPIM; Kelly’s presentation concluded with staff indicating the application will proceed to the formal variance review process, where engineering, easement agreements and final layouts will be reviewed.