City Initiated Bankhead Neighborhood TOD Rezoning’s Advances

Earlier this month, the Atlanta Zoning Review Board recommended approval of the rezoning’s as introduced by Councilmember Dustin Hillis.  The properties near the Bankhead MARTA station are currently zoned industrial, mixed residential/commercial, and single-family residential to mixed residential commercial. Additionally, a companion action to amend the Comprehensive Development Code to encourage additional transit-oriented development and provide affordable housing in proximity to the Bankhead MARTA Station was being proposed by the Community Development/Human Services Committee.

As reported by What Now Atlanta in December, Neighborhood Planning Unit -J also recommended approval of the City initiated rezoning of I-2/BL (Light industrial/BeltLine overlay), MRC-1/BL (Mixed residential commercial/BeltLine overlay), MRC-3/BL (Mixed residential commercial/BeltLine overlay), and R-4A/BL (Single-family residential/BeltLine overlay) to MRC-3/BL (Mixed residential commercial/BeltLine overlay), along with the land use amendment of specific properties from Open Space to Mixed-Use during their December 14, 2021 meeting.  The affected properties include:

The Atlanta Transit-Oriented Development Strategy documents the established goal to increase the number of residential dwelling units by 25,000 units within ½ miles of a transit station by 2025 through regulatory powers, including rezoning and changes in development requirements. Additionally, in 2016, NPU-J adopted policies that encouraged development like Transit-Oriented Developments within close proximity to the Bankhead MARTA Station. Transit-oriented developments are typically dense development located within ½ mile of an existing or proposed transit station.  TOD’s generally promote mixed-use developments combing various housing components (including affordable housing), offices, and often provide maximum access to nearby transit options.