The City of Tucker has proposed rezoning 228 parcels on Lawrenceville Hwy between Northlake Parkway and Brockett Road. This is a city led effort to shape future development in the corridor by changing land use standards with a focus on converting commercial property to residential.
When Lawrenceville Hwy was widened to four lanes in the 1970s, the project narrowed the lot size of dozens of properties, placing the front door of some businesses within a few feet of the road. Over the next 40 years many of these properties became home to auto repair and auto sales businesses. At one time there were approximately 80 auto-centric businesses along the Lawrenceville Hwy corridor through Tucker.
Over the last decade residents and some business owners have expressed concerns about the look of the corridor when compared to other areas of Tucker and metro Atlanta. These concerns have reached the city council and, to find a solution, the city is proposing a zoning change to invite other uses into the area.
Active land uses for current businesses will be grandfathered in, but future commercial uses will be limited. The city plan will replace ten existing zoning categories with four new zoning districts: LH-1 through LH-4. Three of the four support residential development.
In place of existing commercial uses, the city recommends twenty-four parcels on the southside of Lawrenceville Hwy be rezoned for residential. On the north side of Lawrenceville Hwy, the plan recommends converting sixteen parcels from commercial and light industrial to LH-3. The draft ordinance says the intent of LH-3 zoning is to allow for “high density housing options and innovative uses that may be compatible with adaptive reuse.”
The draft ordinance lists incentives for redevelopment including waving permit fees, reductions in parking requirements and increases in residential units per acre for assemblages. Every commercial property owner in the study area should review the proposal carefully to determine how the changes will impact their business.
A copy of the draft ordinance is available online and the city mailed a notice to each of the 228 commercial and residential property owners who will be impacted by the change. A community meeting on the proposal is scheduled for August 30, 2023. For more information, including upcoming hearing dates, please visit the city’s Lawrenceville Hwy Code Study page.