Brookhaven Selects Firm to Lead Zoning Map Audit

Patch Staff Report

In a recent press release, the City of Brookhaven announced it is moving forward with auditing the city’s zoning map.

The City officially selected Pond & Company to lead the zoning map audit project. The firm will assess all existing data and review all DeKalb County data associated with zoning and variance cases within Brookhaven’s boundaries.

Project phase one will begin by establishing a schedule for project deliverables and a format for documenting and confirming zoning. Pond & Company will then search for potential errors and consolidate city and existing county database files.

The zoning ordinance and zoning map were originally adopted from DeKalb County in Jan. 2013, shortly after the city’s incorporation. Since then, Brookhaven staff and officials have identified issues in the transferred map that have caused confusion among residents and businesses. In November, Brookhaven City Council passed an ordinance formalizing the audit process.

Once all of the zoning district information is corrected and verified, the zoning map will need to be re-adopted. It will appear before the Brookhaven Planning Commission and then before the Brookhaven City Council. Residents and businesses will have an opportunity to attend public hearings for the re-adoption.

"This project is essential as the zoning and associated cases include critical information pertaining to property rights," Brookhaven Assistant City Manager/ Community Development Director Susan Canon said in the release. It is important that we confirm former DeKalb County land use decisions on all parcels and that we readopt the zoning map as appropriate.