Should County Commissioners Approve the Proposed PDK Land Use Change?

DeKalb County Commissioners Jeff Rader and Kathie Gannon will host a community meeting Monday night to address concerns over a proposed land use change at (PDK) at 6:30 p.m. at the Chamblee Branch Library at 4115 Clairmont Road.

The Board of Commissioners are reviewing a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment in the area between Clairmont Road and county-owned PDK.  According to Rader, the proposal under consideration would be to re-plan the area for restricted light industrial noise-tolerant land use activities compatible with conditions surrounding PDK airport.

At issue are the conflicting interests to retain green space as a noise buffer to airport activity and improve the Clairmont Road Corridor.

Larry Foster, a spokesman for the activist group PDK Watch, said that the proposal risks the buffers that residents fought for and have come to depend on to protect them from the noise levels at the state's second busiest airport. 

Jim Eyre, vice president of the Ashford Park Civic Association, said the intent of the land use change was to provide an opportunity for improvements on Clairmont Road, not to cut down trees.

"i think this would provide a great stimulus for a quality development," Eyre said.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the land was recently appraised at $3.5 million, which if sold, proceeds would go toward airport improvement projects such as fixing runways or drainage improvements. 

The AJC reported that the rezoning could also generate up to $500,000 a year in property taxes on planes in the new hangars if developed, reducing some of the tax burden on residents, Rader said in the report.

Should DeKalb County Commissioners approve the rezoning proposal? Share your thoughts in comments and join the conversation on Facebook.