Feb. 13 Zoning Hearing Scheduled on Clifton Ridge Subdivision
Opponents say project is not in keeping with character of Druid Hills.
The group of Druid Hills residents who oppose the Clifton Ridge Subdivision project will have another opportunity to voice their displeasure before the DeKalb County Zoning Appeals Board, which has scheduled a 1 p.m. hearing Feb. 13 in the Maloof Building, 1300 Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur.
The hearing follows a DeKalb County Superior Court judge's issuance of a temporary restraining order halting work on the project for a 30-day period so the court can address concerns raised by the Druid Hills Civic Association, which opposes the subdivision.
Atlanta attorney Robert Buckler wants to build seven homes on roughly three acres off Cfifton and Oxford roads.
Opponents say the plans are not in keeping with the character of the historic Druid Hills community.
Allowing Buckler to move forward, they have charged, will allow other developers to do as they please.
Buckler, for his part, has said the project has received all the proper permits and he expects it will proceed eventually.
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Druid Hills Residents Protest Clifton Ridge Subdivision
Don Broussard
12:54 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
This article mischaracterizes several key points about this issue: First, the appeal is by the Druid Hills Civic Association not by "a group of Druid Hills residents"; second, it's really not a zoning hearing but an appeal to the Board of Appeals over the, allegedly, illegal permits issued by DeKalb County — permits that do not comply with DeKalb subdivision regulations and or the historic preservation regulations — not the zoning. The issue is that the proposed 7 lot cul de sac does not comply with the law -- not that it is "not in character" with Druid Hills — though it surely would not be. It will be interesting to see if the Board of Appeals votes according to the law — or whether the members who live below I-20 and beyond I-285 over rule our area's own representatives on this issue — as has been the pattern for the last couple of years. If so, this is yet more evidence that we need a new city that will control its own land use administration and be accountable to voters in THIS community. A county government of 7 commissioners representing 700,000 people CAN NOT provide that accountability.