Press Release April 24, 2007
Clarkston Passes New City-wide Zoning:
Sounds the Call for Quality Development
Clarkston, GA - The city measures just 1.1 square miles. Yet there’s a big vision in place that will soon transform this former railroad town into a model of walkable urban living.
Last night, Clarkston City Council unanimously passed a sweeping new zoning ordinance that sets the stage to remake its downtown into an inviting town center, while retaining the city’s intimate small town character. “We realized the old zoning wasn’t working,” admits Mayor Lee Swaney. “With active community participation, we now have a zoning plan that will connect the pieces and enhance what we have. People want to walk to offices, shops and parks. For the first time in our history, the new zoning strongly encourages it,” Swaney says.
Karen Feltz, a City Council member with a degree in urban geography from Georgia State, is pleased with the timing. “Clarkston missed out on the building boom of the ‘90s yet that turns out to be a marvelous opportunity,” she believes. Considering its prime location in the path of progress, Clarkston is just 10 miles from downtown Atlanta. The city - with a population of 7,200 and annual budget of $3 million - can learn from others’ mistakes, benefit from the best urban planning tools available and attract the mixed-use density its residents want. “Now it’s Clarkston’s turn to capitalize on this positive trend,” Feltz says.
Like 75 other metro Atlanta communities, Clarkston requested a Livable Communities Initiative (LCI) grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) in 2004. From that extensive study process, a Comprehensive Plan was crafted that set the tone for the new zoning ordinance.
Yet every LCI community has its own special assets. Clarkston is among the most internationally diverse cities in Georgia, designated a Federal Refugee Destination Center since 1996. In January, a local soccer team that exemplifies Clarkston’s international flavor became world famous when the story of the Fugees made the front page of The New York Times. Clarkston also has a proportionately large amount of protected green space for a city of its size. Clarkston owns Friendship Forest, a bird sanctuary, recently enlarged to 18 acres and DeKalb County owns Forty Oaks Nature Preserve, another 10 acres. The Clarkston Community Center is undergoing major renovation as well. These amenities will resonate with new merchants and residents that Clarkston wants to attract, especially first-time home buyers with young families, retirees and entrepreneurs. Existing downtown businesses like an Ethiopian-Italian restaurant and City Burger will benefit when newcomers are added to the mix.
Developers will present their projects to a newly created Planning and Development Commission that will make sure their ideas meet the new zoning criteria before seeking City Council approval. Vice Mayor Joyce Wade is determined to make the process smooth and easy. “Developers can read Clarkston’s newly updated Comprehensive Plan and new zoning ordinance which make it crystal clear what we are trying to do,” Wade explains. The zoning ordinance is purposely written in language that developers and citizens can easily understand. “We also made sure that the zoning is enforceable,” she adds.
According to Susan Garrett, a zoning attorney by profession and volunteer member of the Planning and Development Commission, the new zoning also encourages districts where people can have a small business in their homes. “As long as it looks like a residence and there’s a limit to the amount of client traffic, it makes good sense for creative businesses, doctors, accountants and dentists to lower their overhead and work where they live,” she says. “That’s how it was when I grew up.” To prove her point that Clarkston real estate remains affordable, Garrett says she paid only $125,000 seven years ago for her four-bedroom, ‘60s home on a lot that’s almost a full acre. Today, similar properties have not reached the $200,000 mark in a community that sits five miles north of Decatur and three miles south of Stone Mountain Park on East Ponce de Leon Avenue.
In addition, Clarkston has the potential to claim almost $5 million in federal and state transportation dollars earmarked for street improvements which will enhance walkability throughout the city and inter-connect the Central Business District with new sidewalks. Developers will be required to build sidewalks as part of their projects. Buildings must be placed right at street level with parking in the rear, and will be enhanced with landscaping and lighting – dramatically improving the livability and character of new retail and residential districts.
With the new zoning in place, a seven-month-long building moratorium has now been lifted. “We see it as a self-selecting process,” Mayor Swaney puts it. “Projects, large and small, that fit our vision will have an excellent shot at getting in on the ground floor. The new zoning is not rigid – just realistic.”
