Decatur School Board to discuss duplex housing permit
(l-r) City Schools of Decatur School Board members James Herndon, Dr. Carmen Sulton, Jana Johnson-Davis, Tasha White and Hans Utz. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Decatur, GA — The City Schools of Decatur School Board will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. for a regular meeting. The meeting will be held in person at the Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Ave., and via Zoom.
During the meeting, the school board will discuss converting two CSD-owned homes into duplexes.
“It is recommended that the Board approve Dr. Fehrman to act on their behalf and apply for two zoning permits at the following locations (204 Westchester Drive and 927 S McDonough Street) to transition these homes into duplexes which CSD will then use these houses as affordable rental options for CSD employees,” the agenda states.
To access the meeting, follow these instructions:
The board will continue the practice of streaming meetings via Zoom and available at the following link.
Join the Board Meeting: https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95614159391
To join by phone dial 1-646-558-8656 or +1-301-715-8592
The webinar ID is 956 1415 9391.
To view the meeting agenda, click here.
To make a public comment, in-person attendees can register online before the meeting or upon arrival by scanning a QR Code on the Board Room entrance. Registration will ensure that the district collects information necessary to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing. Please ensure the name you enter on the form matches the name you use(d) to sign-up. If the names do not match, it will not be possible for you to be recognized to participate in public comment. To sign up for public comment, click here.
In September 2022, the school board, along with then-City Planner Kristin Allin, discussed the future of four homes the school board owns.
The homes were purchased by the school district in 2018 and two of them have been used as satellite offices for school psychologists, social workers and the Decatur Virtual Academy. Three of the homes are on Westchester Drive and the fourth is on South McDonough near the early childhood learning center.
The homes were purchased at the time in case the school district needed more space to expand the schools. Last year, the school board and city staff discussed options for how CSD could use those homes as teacher housing.
During the September work session, Allin presented four options to the school board for what they could do with the homes. One option was to subdivide the homes into duplexes or triplexes. Another option was to subdivide the homes into a duplex or triplex and add an ADU.
“These could be great houses to subdivide,” Allin said. “That depends on how the house lends itself.”
On Feb. 6, the Decatur City Commission unanimously adopted zoning amendments that will re-allow duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes in single-family zoning districts. The ordinance will go into effect on June 30.
The amendments will allow for the construction of or conversion to duplexes, which are two units, and walk-up flats, which are three to four units, in the city’s R-50, R-60, R-85, and RS-17 zoning districts by limited use. These types of housing will have to conform to the size limitations of single-family homes. The ability to build and maintain a single-family home will not change.
The amendment also requires one parking space per unit and allows for up to 50% of the parking for duplexes and walk-up flats to be on-street parking, as long as there is enough street frontage and on-street parking is allowed.
The city will also limit the number of building permits for 18 months from June 30, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024. The permits will be limited to three per Decatur lower elementary school zone to give the city time to implement the zoning changes “in a manner that best serves the community and minimizes any adverse impacts on city residents,” Allin wrote in the memo.
Also on the school board agenda, the board will discuss a budget primer presentation, quarter two district improvement plan updates, and the board work plan.
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