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Peachtree Corners council approves zoning code updates on fitness centers, parking and data centers
Summary
On second reading the Peachtree Corners City Council approved multiple text amendments to the city zoning code — defining large health clubs, revising off-street parking rules, restricting data centers and expanding planning commission membership.
Peachtree Corners — The City Council on second reading approved a package of zoning-code text amendments clarifying definitions and permitting rules for large health clubs and fitness centers, updating off-street parking standards (including shared-parking rules), and limiting where data centers may locate in the city. The council also approved changing the planning commission from five members and two alternates to seven full members.
City planning staff framed the package as a cleanup and gap-filling effort. “This is another example of filling the gaps in part of our zoning code,” said Sean Adams, city planning staff, explaining the changes to definitions and the thresholds that will trigger additional review. Adams said the proposal defines “health club and fitness center” and treats larger facilities as a special use in some commercial zones so the city can assess parking and infrastructure impacts on a case-by-case basis.
The amendments make health clubs/fitness centers larger than 7,500 square feet subject to a special-use permit in the C‑2 (general business) zone, removing that category as a by-right use in C‑2. Adams said the 7,500-square-foot threshold was chosen after comparing nearby jurisdictions and typical footprints for chains: “Planet Fitness … tend to be over 10 [thousand square feet] and push in that 15 to 20 range,” he said.
Council also adopted revisions to off-street parking rules that include: a minimum driveway definition (at least 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, paved to the street), a revised parking ratio for fitness centers (updated to 8 spaces per 1,000 square feet), a reduced warehouse parking ratio (from 1 per 2,500 sq. ft. to 1 per 2,000 sq. ft.), standardized parking maximums, and a new shared-parking framework that requires a recorded shared-parking agreement and allocates parking by time-of-day use for mixed-use developments.
On data centers, the council approved an amendment that narrows where data centers may locate. The text amendment adds a definition for data centers and prohibits them in the Central Business District; it limits sites where they can be permitted to M2 (heavy industrial) parcels. Adams told the council the city currently has no undeveloped M2 acreage large enough for the multi-acre facilities some firms seek and that smaller M2 parcels are typically developed and would likely require parcel assembly and redevelopment.
The council also voted to expand the planning commission to seven full members (converting two alternates to full members) so the planning commission and the zoning board of appeals now share a seven-member roster.
All items were approved on second reading by voice vote; the meeting transcript records a motion and a second for each item and “all in favor” raised hands, and no roll-call vote tallies were provided.
The package is intended to give the city more flexibility to review larger, more intense commercial uses and to modernize parking rules for mixed‑use development.
Votes at a glance: the council approved the text amendments on fitness centers, off-street parking (including shared parking and driveway definitions), data centers, and the planning commission membership change on second reading/approval.
