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Applicant withdraws proposal for 16‑bed youth group home after Lithonia council and residents raise safety and zoning concerns
Summary
An applicant seeking permission to operate a 16‑bed child‑caring institution at 7047 Swift Street withdrew the request after planning staff recommended limiting occupancy to six and residents cited safety, traffic and nuisance concerns. The council accepted the withdrawal rather than vote on a likely denial.
An applicant has withdrawn a special‑exception request to operate a child‑caring institution at 7047 Swift Street after strong neighborhood opposition and staff concerns over scale and safety.
Planning staff told the council the form‑based code does not allow the proposed use by right and recommended approval only as a limited group child‑caring institution, "not to exceed six" residents exclusive of caregivers, because a congregate facility (the applicant proposed up to 16 residents) would be inconsistent with the size and character of surrounding homes and could harm property values, a staff member said.
Applicant Chris Jackson of CJ Youth Development Center described the proposal as a 24‑hour, staffed group home for children ages roughly 13–18 with special needs, saying the house has 10 bedrooms and 16 beds and that staffing would be "three to four adults at a time" with "one adult per six kids" and interior and exterior cameras to monitor the site.
Residents and nearby business owners strongly opposed the proposal at the public hearing. A longtime business owner said the corner site was "not right there" for 16 children and described a prior assault in her shop involving a child connected to another group home; another resident, describing past experience as a foster‑home operator, said operating larger group homes can create recurring demands on police and social services. Cindy Butler, who identified herself as a Lithonia resident and business owner, said, "I'm totally against it in this area. That's a busy corner…16, that's a lot of kids." Several speakers urged tabling the matter or helping the applicant find a different site outside the immediate neighborhood.
During council deliberations members restated concerns about proximity to a busy street, a railroad track and a nearby convenience store that sells alcohol, and noted that exceeding six residents may trigger a different commercial licensing and building‑code review, including fire‑suppression requirements and inspections. One council member advised the applicant that a denial would impose a waiting period before reapplication and recommended withdrawing instead. The council then voted to accept Jackson's withdrawal of the application.
The withdrawal ends the process for 7047 Swift Street at this meeting; the applicant was advised he may pursue alternative properties or reapply in the future after addressing the code, licensing and site‑suitability concerns raised by staff and residents.
