Decatur planning commission approves 48‑unit apartment site plan amid heavy neighborhood opposition

The Decatur Planning Commission voted 5‑2 to approve site plan 724‑26, a proposal to build a 48‑unit multifamily apartment complex on a 19.66‑acre parcel along 2nd Street SW, after more than two hours of public comment and technical review. The approval was conditioned on departmental requirements including apparatus access per the International Fire Code, water and sewer main extensions, and a landscaping buffer and planting plan to be completed before a building permit is issued.

Neighbors packed the meeting to oppose the project, repeatedly citing the city’s experience with the older Stonegate complex as a cautionary example. “The traffic that’s going to be coming in and out of that area is just going to be devastating,” said Edward Franklin, a District 1 resident who asked the commission to require traffic studies and to consider other locations. Kimberly Safaya, another longtime neighborhood resident,…