Residents along Redan Road, Hairston Road, Covington Highway, Panola Road, and Young Road in eastern DeKalb County could soon see more grocery stores, restaurants, and small infill homes in their neighborhoods—if a proposed update to the Greater Hidden Hills Overlay District passes the Board of Commissioners.
The Board is scheduled to vote on August 13. According to the county’s planning staff analysis, the original overlay—adopted in 2011 in the wake of the 2008 recession and a local golf course closure—set rules stricter than the county’s own base standards. That mismatch is a central reason the area has not seen the level or type of development originally intended.
The proposed changes focus on Tiers 1 and 2, the commercial and mixed-use corridors where residents have long wanted walkable neighborhood retail and medium-density housing. Tiers 3 and 4, which cover conservation and recreation land, would stay untouched—so the areas residents value for greenspace aren’t being opened up for development.
What’s changing on the ground
The update would modestly increase allowable density and adjust floor area ratios—how much building square footage is permitted relative to lot size—to bring the overlay in line with what DeKalb’s future land use map already calls for under the Neighborhood Center and Commercial Redevelopment Corridor designations…