Atlanta zoning code rewrite will undergo a rewrite
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City officials are pumping the brakes on a years-long effort to rewrite Atlanta's antiquated zoning code after a city-commissioned critique warned the proposals could leave the city worse off than what's currently on the books.
Why it matters: Zoning drives the look and feel of a city, and ATL Zoning 2.0 is the first overhaul of Atlanta's rules and regulations since 1982, when the city had roughly 100,000 fewer people and no Atlanta Beltline.
- Mayor Andre Dickens' administration is working to revise the draft before the City Council considers adopting a new code, officials said Monday.
Catch up quick: Atlanta's effort to overhaul its zoning code dates to 2016 with goals of making Atlanta more walkable, transit-friendly and accommodating to different types of housing developments.
- An early push for some of the same reforms, championed by then-planning commissioner Tim Keane, was shot down in 2021 after neighborhood pushback over proposals encouraging greater density in residential areas.
State of play: Council's Zoning Committee voted unanimously Monday to hold the proposed code while officials work through revisions.
- A June evaluation by zoning expert Sara Bronin says the December draft code is too long — 981 pages — and complex and doesn't do enough to expand housing options and advance the city's economic mobility goals.
- As written, Bronin argues, the draft proposal would freeze Atlanta's current single-family zoning in place, creating "single-family neighborhood fortresses" and making it difficult to develop different types of housing.
- Bronin does praise parts of the rewrite, particularly its elimination of most residential parking minimums.
The big picture: Scores of politicians live with scarred hands from touching the zoning process, one of the undeniable third rails of municipal politics.
What they're saying: The mayor's office did not return Axios' request for comment. TSW, the Zoning 2.0 project consultant, directed Axios to city planning officials for comment.
What's next: Council Member Mary Norwood said the Zoning Committee will hold a work session on Oct. 15 (and possibly more) to discuss the changes.
- The city plans to hold two webinars before the amended proposal goes through Neighborhood Planning Units and the Zoning Review Board for review.
Norwood said the revised draft could return to Council for consideration in the first quarter of 2027.