A Small Corner of an Atlanta Suburb Could Ditch Parking Minimums

The Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, located in DeKalb County, is moving forward with the Brookhaven-Peachtree Overlay District, which includes some controversial proposals such as a lack of parking minimums for multi-family developments in some parts of the transit-adjacent plan area.

Dyana Bagby reports on the state of the draft Overlay District as it moves from the city's Planning Commission to a potential vote by the City Council at the end of the month. The draft plan culminates a process launched in February, when the city awarded Atlanta-based urban planning firm TSW with a $135,000 contract to rewrite the Overlay District.

"The Overlay Draft rewrite follows the city’s study of neighborhood character areas that was added to the city’s comprehensive plan this year," according to Bagby. Among the planning policies proposed by the draft Overlay District are a height bonus for open space, increased buffers between residential and commercial developments, and a lack of parking minimums for multi-family developments in one part of plan area.