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Board approves Greater Hidden Hills Overlay update to encourage walkable mixed-use development
Summary
The board approved a text amendment to the Greater Hidden Hills Overlay: lower the mixed-use commercial requirement to 20%, add cottage homes and drive-thrus as special uses, and adjust density and floor-area-ratio incentives to attract grocery, medical and restaurant uses.
DeKalb County planning staff presented and the Board of Commissioners approved a text amendment to the Greater Hidden Hills Overlay District intended to align the overlay with current development trends and community preferences.
The staff presentation explained the major changes: increasing maximum dwelling units per acre at the Covington Highway/South Harrison Road neighborhood center node, reducing the mixed-use requirement from 30% to 20%, allowing cottage homes and adding drive-thrus as special land uses, and lowering the open-space formula to 10% to make desired densities achievable. As staff put it, they "lowered the mixed use requirement to 20% commercial, again, in alignment with the DeKalb zoning code." Community leaders including Phyllis Frierson supported the amendment, saying the revisions preserve overlay protections while enabling grocery, medical and restaurant uses the neighborhood wants.
Why it matters: The update adjusts rules intended to incentivize the kind of small-scale retail and services residents asked for while keeping protections against incompatible uses. The text amendments passed with commissioners citing community engagement and the desire to spur reinvestment along underutilized commercial corridors.
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