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Decatur Planning Commission approves exception allowing most hotel parking off-site despite neighbors' objections
Summary
The Decatur Planning Commission voted to allow a proposed six-story, 144-room AC Marriott at 701–705 Church Street to provide a larger share of required parking off-site (increasing allowed off-site parking from 80% to 92%); neighbors warned the change could impair a shared driveway, worsen pedestrian safety and affect nearby cemetery parking. The project still must complete land‑disturbance permitting and a transportation study.
The Decatur Planning Commission on Oct. 14 approved a special exception allowing a proposed six‑story AC‑branded Marriott at 701–705 Church Street to satisfy most of its required parking off‑site rather than on the hotel lot.
Chair John McFarland called the application, and Michael Clifford of BCA Studios Architects told the panel the project would include about 144 guest rooms, a rooftop restaurant and a single one‑way entry on Church Street. Clifford said the hotel would operate with valet and roughly 10 on‑site parking spaces, relying on recorded off‑site parking agreements to meet the city's parking requirements.
The decision matters because the Downtown Decatur pedestrian overlay generally limits the share of required nonresidential parking that may be provided off‑site. The applicant asked the commission to increase the allowed off‑site share from the standard 80% to approximately 92% for this site; commissioners approved that exception by voice vote, with no opposition or abstention recorded in the meeting transcript.
Why the commission approved…
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