Planning Commission recommends rezoning of 2401 Country Club Drive to RD redevelopment

The Decatur Planning Commission voted Jan. 21, 2025, to recommend that the City Council rezone the western portion of the property at 2401 Country Club Drive from B-2 General Business to RD (Redevelopment).

The change would make the parcel’s zoning uniform across what commission staff described as a single large property; Tommy Williams of the City Planning Department told commissioners “the request is to rezone 94.1 acres from B 2 General Business to R D redevelopment,” and that the proposed land use is mixed use consistent with the 1 Decatur comprehensive plan.

The rezoning drew multiple public speakers who said they had not received adequate notice and who pressed the commission for detail about likely traffic, access points and buffers. Stan Ainge, a Country Club Lane resident, said, “I received a certified copy of the rezoning request, and the first thing that caught my attention, it says to rezone approximately 9.91 acres. This does not look to be 9.91 acres.” Several neighbors asked whether Country Club Lane or Country Club Road would be used for access and whether prior verbal commitments — including a reported agreement that Country Club Lane would not be used for ingress and egress — would be enforced; commission staff and the applicant said access and related engineering would be addressed later if and when a development plan is filed.

Blake McAnally, representing the applicant, said the rezoning request was intended to “get the zoning homogeneous for the property” and emphasized that any development would return to the commission with plats, site plans and engineering required by city regulations.

Commissioners approved a motion to recommend the rezoning to city council. The motion was made by Commissioner Eddie Pike and seconded by Commissioner Larry Wade; the commission recorded the recommendation as approved in the meeting (vote tally recorded as 7–0 in the transcript summary).

Commission staff noted standard conditions and points of information: RD allows a range of residential and limited commercial uses; any utility relocation would be at the owner’s expense and must occur before construction; and future development proposals would require separate submittals (plats, site plans and required drainage/utility details) before final approval. Neighbors asking for berms, deed restrictions or guarantees about Country Club Lane were told those concerns would be considered during any subsequent development review rather than during the rezoning recommendation.

The commission’s recommendation sends the rezoning to the City Council for final action; no city council decision was recorded at the Jan. 21 meeting.