City and Planning Commission review Highway 92 design standards LCI; consultants propose flexible "plan development" approach

Consultants presented a draft Highway 92 design standards package, developed through the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) Livable Centers Initiative (LCI), at the joint August 11 meeting of the Woodstock City Council and Planning Commission. The presentation described a 12–16 month study of the corridor and recommended a new “plan development” (similar to a planned unit development) process that would let property owners opt in with a master plan that responds to a set of visual design themes rather than strict, metric‑only standards.

The presentation was led by Bob Beagle of Lourdesk Sargent and project manager Quinn Pham; Deputy City Manager Cody Thigpen and project partners including KB Advisory and Content Consulting also participated. Beagle said the study area extends roughly 1,000–1,500 feet on either side of Highway 92 and that the team examined zoning, land values, storefront occupancy, demographic context and seven hypothetical redevelopment scenarios to test viability. Economic analysis by KB Advisory showed redevelopment generally requires substantially greater returns to be feasible — described in the…