The Brookhaven City Council is slated to discuss and vote on an ordinance at its June 12 meeting that would put a 6-month moratorium on new development on Buford Highway.
The moratorium specifically cites putting a moratorium on all land use petitions and land development permits within the Buford Highway Improvement Plan Area that was part of a 2014 study of the area as well as development of a economic development strategy for the area.
The city is currently undertaking a zoning rewrite of all of the city’s zoning ordinances and are planning to include the addition of a Buford Highway Overlay district. The zoning rewrite is expected to be completed this summer.
The council’s agenda states that the moratorium is recommended by the Community Development Department during the review and adoption of the Brookhaven Zoning Ordinance Rewrite.
The city recently purchased for $1.7 million a shuttered QuickTrip on Buford Highway to gain a foothold on future development in the area. The city’s Planning Commission recently rejected a developer’s request to build a self-storage unit on Buford Highway, citing that it did not fit in with the city’s comprehensive plan for Buford Highway. The developer has now withdrawn its request.
In 2016, the City Council approved a 6-month moratorium on rezoning requests as a way to slow apartment development along Dresden Drive and to allow time for character area studies to be conducted on residential areas.