South Fulton zoning board approves sign, buffer and setback variances for 5746 Campbellton Road development

The South Fulton Zoning Board of Appeals on April 17 approved variances for a commercial portion of a mixed‑use development at the corner of Campbellton Road and Camp Creek Parkway (case V24‑014, property address listed as 5746). Staff recommended approval.

The applicant requested multiple variances to accommodate a commercial pad along Campbellton Road and visibility from Camp Creek Parkway. The board approved relief from the city’s sign regulations (table 7‑2): increasing the permitted freestanding sign face from 32 square feet to 150 square feet and increasing maximum sign height from 8 feet to 40 feet. The application also sought reductions to required landscape and buffer widths: reducing a 25‑foot landscape strip along Campbellton Road to 10 feet, reducing a 40‑foot natural buffer along Camp Creek Parkway to 15 feet, and eliminating a 10‑foot improvement setback along Camp Creek Parkway.

Attorney Hakeem Hilliard, representing Hutch Development, said the project was rezoned in 2022 as a mixed‑use development that includes for‑sale housing, rental townhomes and roughly 37,000 square feet of retail approved for the portion now before the board. He said the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) required a larger right‑of‑way and a roundabout as a condition of earlier zoning approvals; that increased right‑of‑way reduced the site’s developable area and is the primary reason the applicant seeks variances.

“We proposed this right away. But if you look at the plan that’s been submitted with the variance application, you’ll see just from a bird’s‑eye view that the right‑of‑way that was ultimately required by GDOT and ARC was substantially bigger than what we contemplated,” Hilliard said.

Hilliard and principal Malik Karimi told the board they had spent more than a year meeting with neighbors during the rezoning process and that the variances aim to make the commercial portion marketable by allowing buildings closer to the street and improving visibility for potential tenants. The applicant said the community emphasized a desire for sit‑down restaurants and grocery options; no finalized national tenants were identified at the hearing.

Resident Corey Thomas of the Santine district said he supported the development but asked what national brands or economic impact the project would bring. Hilliard replied the development team and the city’s economic development contractor (Retail Strategies) are actively recruiting quality tenants and that the variance is intended to create a competitive presentation when potential tenants visit the site.

Board members questioned a previously proposed interparcel connection to the adjacent Woodside Hills subdivision. Hilliard said the original zoning process contemplates a stub street but Woodside Hills opposed a vehicular connection; negotiations produced a gated pedestrian access keyed and controlled by the Woodside Hills homeowners association rather than an open vehicular link.

The board voted to approve the variances after a motion to approve was moved and seconded (the motion was seconded by Brian O’Donnell). The transcript records the motion carried with no recorded opposition.

Votes at a glance • V24‑014 (5746 Campbellton Road) — Motion to approve variances to sign regulations (table 7‑2: sign face from 32 sq ft to 150 sq ft; height 8 ft to 40 ft), reduce Campbellton landscape strip from 25 ft to 10 ft, reduce Camp Creek natural buffer from 40 ft to 15 ft, and eliminate a 10 ft improvement setback along Camp Creek Parkway. Staff recommended approval. Outcome: approved (motion seconded by Brian O’Donnell; no recorded opposition). • B25‑001 (3757 Floyd Road / Enon Ranch) — Variance to reduce required site yard setback from 25 ft to 15 ft and eliminate a landscape strip; applicant cited topography and a Georgia Power transmission easement; staff recommended approval. Outcome: approved. • V25‑002 (6200 Fulton Industrial Boulevard) — Variances to reduce a 75‑foot undisturbed natural vegetation buffer and a 25‑foot non‑impervious buffer to allow a roughly 100,000‑square‑foot expansion of an existing warehouse; applicant said updated stormwater controls will be provided; staff recommended approval. Outcome: approved.

What the approvals mean The variances allow the developer to position commercial buildings closer to Campbellton Road and install a larger, taller freestanding sign intended to improve visibility from Camp Creek Parkway and the nearby intersection. Applicants said the design changes respond to GDOT and ARC right‑of‑way requirements and are meant to help attract restaurants, grocers and other sit‑down retail tenants the community requested during prior rezoning discussions.

Board members and applicants agreed that final tenant agreements and specific economic impact figures were not in hand at the hearing; multiple speakers said recruitment work is ongoing with the city’s economic development contacts.