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An Overview of City of Decatur Residential Zoning Changes

Change is a constant in Intown Atlanta neighborhoods and zoning regulations change in response to current concerns. On February 6, 2023, the Decatur City Commission voted to adopt changes to the zoning ordinance to allow duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes in single-family zoning districts. The changes will go into effect on June 30 and will be phased in over 18 months. During the “phase in” period, building permits to build multi-unit properties or convert a single-family house to a multifamily property will be limited to three permits per lower elementary school zone. 

In the late 1980’s, the City of Decatur, like many Intown Atlanta neighborhoods, was looking for a way to promote single-family homeownership. The city passed an ordinance that eliminated any new multifamily units or conversions in residential neighborhoods. At the time, many potential homeowners were reluctant to purchase a house next to a multifamily unit that might be in poor condition or live next to a single-family home that could be demolished to build a multifamily property. The thinking then, and it is still true today, is that single-family homeowners provide stability in a community.

Forty plus years later, by any measure, Decatur has been successful in promoting single-family homeownership. With a well-run city government and an excellent public school system, demand for single-family homes in the city far exceeds the supply of properties. In the last decade, single-family housing prices have risen from an average of $300,000 to more than $800,000.

The City of Decatur is now part of the national housing affordability crisis. If you are a young person that grew up in Decatur, finished college and is now back working in the Atlanta area, chances are good that you will not be able to afford to buy a home in your hometown. If you teach in the City Schools of Decatur system, are a public safety or public works employee with the city, or work for a local nonprofit organization, you probably can’t afford to live where you work. 

While the change to the single-family zoning ordinance will not entirely solve the affordability crisis in the city, it will make a dent in the problem. A person who might not qualify for an expensive home might be able to buy a duplex and live in one side and have the rental income from the other unit make the property affordable. If a single-family lot sells for $400,000, a home built on that lot would need to be sold for well over $1 million to make the numbers work. If you were able to build four units on that same $400,000 lot, the resulting properties would probably sell for $300,000 to $400,000 each, making the homes within reach of more middle-income buyers.

This change in the zoning ordinance will foster more racial, age, income and housing stock diversity in the city. It will add density that, by in large, does not exist in its residential neighborhoods. More infill housing will also add to the city’s tax base. Its impact on the school system and traffic are said to be manageable. Overall, the change is forward-thinking and is something that ought to be considered by other local governments in the Atlanta region.

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About Us

• As a native Atlantan who grew up in a house built by my grandparents in 1902 across the street from Grant Park, I have always loved the City’s downtown and historic intown neighborhoods. I went to school from the first grade through graduate school in downtown Atlanta.

As a child growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I witnessed and mourned the decline of those wonderful old “close-in” neighborhoods and their business districts. By the time I was in my early 20s in the late ’60s, I had gotten involved in early intown revitalization efforts in Grant Park under the auspices of a program known as “Model Cities.” After a tour of duty in the Army and Graduate Business School at Georgia State University, I joined the forerunner of the Grant Park Neighborhood Association in late 1974. In the early 1970s most intown neighborhoods were “redlined” by banks and neglected by the local government. The neighborhood revitalization movement in Atlanta was in its infancy. Banks refused to make real estate loans in these “high-risk” neighborhoods. The level of city services was poor and to make matters worse, the city had rezoned many of these neighborhoods from single-family to multifamily residential in the 1950s.

I became a neighborhood activist in Grant Park and, along with others, helped to bring about one of the largest “down zonings” in City history, converting the area back to single-family/duplex zoning from apartment zoning. I was also a community representative and later President of the local Neighborhood Housing Services program, which helped local lenders understand the housing market in the City’s neighborhoods and helped end their practice of not making loans in these communities. I later served as a neighborhood association and Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) Chair as well as a board member of the civic groups working to restore the Cyclorama in Grant Park and historic Oakland Cemetery.

All these experiences have had a profound effect on me and the company that I founded in 1979. I had a commercial real estate background but came to realize that strong neighborhoods are vital to a city’s quality of life and its commercial core. Adams Commercial’s approach to real estate has always reflected the values of neighborhood activism. Our transactions involve people, not just numbers. We are in the problem solving and information business. After more than 40 years of service, our goal is to complete our client’s purchase or investment while at the same time adding value to the community through that transaction.

I hope that you find our website to be a helpful tool whether you are planning to buy, sell or are trying to get a good feel for the state of the commercial real estate market in Atlanta. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me at wtadams@adamscre.com. If you have an interest in commercial real estate, please visit our Adams Commercial Real Estate Website at adamscre.com.

Thanks,

Bill Adams, MBA, CCIM, ALC, CRB
President
ADAMS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Atlanta, GA

Our Core Values: Success, Integrity, Wisdom, Dependability, Community

At Adams Commercial we define SUCCESS when our clients get up from their closing with a smile. To accomplish this,  we start by putting the needs of our clients first, which to us is the essence of INTEGRITY. We bring the collective WISDOM of our agents to every real estate deal … wisdom that comes only from the company’s years of business experience and expertise in intown markets. Whether it is showing up at the appointed time or making sure all details are noted and deadlines met, we believe DEPENDABILITY is also an essential ingredient of a successful real estate transaction. We believe that your successful purchase or sale adds value to COMMUNITY. And we are proud to play a role in building and sustaining a thriving community.

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