A 150 room Holiday Inn hotel is proposed for Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd. at I-285. Source: City of Chamblee
Chamblee, GA, July 22, 2016 – by Trey Benton – A large group of residents showed up at Tuesday’s Chamblee City Council Meeting to tell City Leaders they are adamantly opposed to variance requests filed by Mohammad C. Hossain on behalf of Nirvana Land LLC, variance requests that would make the construction of a Holiday Inn possible at 4401 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd. Residents are so opposed, they are even threatening legal action should the project move forward.
Hossain says his development would consist of a 150 room full-service Hotel stretching out to 88,610 square feet on a .94-acre parcel, currently occupied by an Exxon gas station and convenience store he owns. He says there will be a restaurant, a rooftop bar, 2,700 square feet of meeting space, an indoor pool, fitness room, business center, market pantry, guest laundry room, and vending areas. The hotel will also contain 170 surface and ground parking spaces.
“This property is located in an area that would be the perfect gateway into the City,” says Hossain. “This hotel will primarily cater to the business community.” With the new State Farm headquarters being built across I-285, he says the project is poised to benefit from those efforts.
Residents close to the proposed development are in opposition of the prospect the City would “bend over backwards to break their own rules and ordinances” to allow the project to receive variances allowing the hotel building to be almost 22 feet taller than what is allowed in Chamblee’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) for areas zoned Corridor Commercial. According to the Staff Report, the UDO limits the height of buildings in the CC zoning district to 60 ft. The proposed height is 81’-9”. The report also says the proposed Holiday Inn lacks the minimum amount of parking, which is the subject of another variance request.
“I assure you this group is not going to ignore this situation,” nearby resident Bill Dillon told the Council. “We will fight this and we will sue you and we will do whatever we have to do to prevent this from happening. We elect you and our Mayor (in absentia), to protect us from this sort of development.”
Other neighbors told Councilmembers additional aspects of the project would negatively impact their community in terms of increases in traffic and more demand on the already inadequate stormwater and sewer infrastructure. “Adding a hotel will do nothing to fix the issues that your citizens face everyday,” said resident Mike Bryant. “The traffic along Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd. is incredible and it is getting worse everyday.”
The traffic trip generation table in the Agenda Packet indicates the new Holiday Inn will generate 1,226 trips per day.
But Dillon says the variances sought by Hossain are not because of a need for a foot or two, here or there. He says the ask is considerable. “This is not even close,” Dillon added. “This is not a variance. This is a situation where somebody is coming in and saying ‘our tax revenue is going to fill the City coffers and therefore you should ignore the law.'”
Hotel/Motel taxes are a considerable revenue source for cities. Currently, Chamblee adds a 5% tax to hotel/motel bills, of which 40% of the proceeds go to promoting tourism, conventions, and cultural events within the City. Conversely, in the 2016 Budget, Chamblee estimates $420,000 will be generated by this tax, $82,000 more than 2015. $252,000 is budgeted to be transferred to the General Fund and $168,000 would go toward promoting Tourism.
The City Council deferred a decision on the proposal on Tuesday, despite Chamblee’s Community Development Department Staff recommending approval, with 14 conditions (See agenda packet). The City Council will consider the proposal again during their August Work Session.
The case is scheduled to be heard by Chamblee’s Architectural Review Board on August 2 at 7:00 PM at City Hall located at 5468 Peachtree Rd.
37 Comments
Riley OConnor
Is this replacing the Holiday Inn across the street at the same interchange?
Eric Robert
Kingston Gate was developed by Jolly Development. In 2001 the community agreed to replace a Kinder Care center and two or 3 single family homes with this development so that commercial uses would not creep further down Chamblee Dunwoody. In other words it was step down zoning between the commercial on 285 and the single family homes to the South. The biggest problem with this proposal is that it puts the 80 foot tall building within 15 feet of the property line with Kingston Gate, and the topology is such that the Kingston Gate townhomes already sits lower so even a 60 foot building should not be this close to the residential property line. Somehow when Chamblee Annexed this portion of DeKalb they switched the LMR Residential Land Use And RA5 residential zoning to CC which stands for commercial corridor zoning. This in my opinion was an oversight that has yet to be explained. It appears that by zoning the residential Kingston Gate Townhomes commercial they have lost Chamblees Height Transitional Buffer protection for when commercial is next to Residential. As it stands now the backdecks of these Townhomes will have a massive structure looming over them.
Until we find out why Chamblee Rezoned Kingston Gate to a primarily commercial use we won’t know if its even possible to go back and fix the zoning and thus restore the buffer protections for abutting properties with different uses. However clearly allowing the building to be another 20 feet is certainly NOT the appropriate course of action.
The Brookhaven Post
Have heard nothing to indicate it will be replacing the one across the street, which by the way is in Brookhaven.
Ted Gordon
This is replacing the Exxon station and several other businesses next to Kingston Gate Townhomes which is all in Chamblee and recently annexed.
City-Weary
The existing Holiday Inn across the street is being purchased by a company that is remodeling and rebranding as a Doubletree Hotel.
ellen
Hate to be devil’s advocate here, but a residential zoning for Kingston Gate seems kind of odd in that it is right next to and across the street from commercial property. Buyers had to be aware that the land uses around the property would eventually change given its location and direct proximity to commercial property. I would have been extremely hesitant to buy in Kingston Gate for that reason. In the city, one always has to be aware of the buffers that exist (or in case didn’t exist) around the property if one wants to be sure that it’s not going to eventually bump up against an undesirable use. For me, the existing gas stations next to it and across the street would have been enough for me to avoid the property.
Eric Robert
True Ellen but the issue here is not that the use of the property is being changed. The issue is that 1. a variance is being sought and 2. Kingston Gate’s zoning was somehow changed from Residential to Commercial so that they may have lost the height transition buffer that they should have as a residential property next to a commercial property. Bottom line, the problem here is NOT that Kingston Gate homeowners have commercial next to them, the problem is that their property appears to have been unilaterally given an inappropriate zoning classification and thus buffer protections they had have been lost.
ellen
Possibly, but the property is only one lot away from 285. If it were me, a 60 foot building would be about as objectionable as an 80-85 foot one. What type of buffer would they be expecting?
Jack Smith
Variances are required by law to judged via a quasi-judicial process on facts only. Most cities in the Atlanta area have a separate ZBA (Zoning Board of Appeals) to handle variance requests. Chamblee does not which means the process is handled directly by the council. The ZBA is required to follow city code just as a judge would follow legislative law when ruling on a motion. Having a political body (city council) conduct variance hearings directly is legally problematic and the result is anyone in the city can easily sue and challenge any variances granted by the council in Dekalb county superior court. This is known as “concurrent zoning” or “concurrent variances.”
Jack Smith
Article about Brookhaven’ s attempt to do away with their ZBA. https://brookhavenpost.co/concurrent-variances-headlines-city-council-meeting-agenda-work-session-time-changes/23456/
City-Weary
That extra 20-25 feet elevation makes a big difference when you’re talking about sunlight, privacy etc.
HMM
Considered what happened at our local Red Roof Inn (it was turned into a method lab), can’t say I blame Brookhaven residents for not being thrilled about yet another low-end hotel chain.
HMM
Considering what happened at our local Red Roof Inn (it was turned into a method lab), I can’t say I blame Brookhaven residents for not being thrilled about yet another low-end hotel chain.
HMM
Sorry- I tried to edit and it posted twice (stupid autocorrect!!).
What I was trying to say is *meth** not method lab, lol. :0)
Riley O\'Connor
The Red Roof national management apparently discovered what was happening and changed the facility to a Red Roof Plus in an effort to fix the matter. If you want that sort of action, there’s another motel about two blocks away……
HMM
The same Red Roof Inn had a huge number of car breakins several months ago. . . .
I’m just saying. . . I don’t think there’s a dirth of cheap lodging in Brookhaven. . . and I don’t think they’re regularly filled to capacity (or even close to capacity). . . and uhhh. . . start following the BPD police reports . . .
City-Weary
LOL someone is voting down the comment about privacy and sunlight. It’s a legitimate concern especially when 15 feet away. At any rate, anyone who believes this rezoning is a good idea is welcome to state their case as such to the council.
HMM
But think of all the tax dollars!
With all the strung-out people stumbling around our local Hampton Inn (including into the street, barefoot), I bet The Holiday Inn could make serious bank- especially if they charge by the hour !
Chamblee resident
They said during proceedings, the existing Holiday Inn is losing its branding. HI is abandoning that one to have a new one across the way. It is what you should always worth sour with lower tier hotels. They eventually downgrade over time. Hence our objection.
yakety-yak!
Hey, what’s all the complaining? This is ON an interstate highway one exit from boomtown Perimeter Center! Just thank your lucky stars it isn’t a Value Place Extended Stay ($50/night 330/wk) like what they got on the other end of Chamblee on Dresden @ 85. Talk about your method labs!
Eddie E.
Chamblee only requires a request from the property owner, 30 days and some unmentioned campaign contributions.
Eddie E.
“boomtown”?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
yakety-yak!
uh,…duh…..
http://www.cushwakeatlanta.com/central-perimeter-leading-atlantas-office-market-recovery/
Toff
I realize this doesn’t look good on paper for the Kingston Gate residents but I believe they will ultimately prefer it to what they have now (gangsta gas station and derelict Arbys). If they can leave the tree buffer the closeness of the buildings will mean there is no view into peoples yards from the hotel rooms.
One point though, they appear to be leaving the entry and exits in the same spots on Chamblee Dunwoody and Savoy. Big mistake, they need to move the Savoy exit down Savoy further as people screaming thru the light when exiting 285 keep rear-ending folks turning into the gas station.
Eric Robert
This proposal does not include the Arby property. Thus the reason they can’t move the entrance.
Kometenmelodie
I don’t know about sunlight. Wouldn’t this hotel would be north of the townhomes?
Will
This is a replacement
birdhouse
Reasonable location for a hotel; However, something must be done about this interchange. It’s brutal, particularly for AM drivers trying to go from Savoy onto Cham-Dun and immediate left onto I-285 westbound. This whole interchange from ChamDun to N.Peachtree needs to be re-worked.
I say add lanes to Cotillion, make both directions of I-285 (eastbound/westbound) accessible from both ends of the interchange (Cham and N. Peach) and make Savoy a local road w/ no truck traffic.
Riley OConnor
Just to make it interesting, let’s not forget that this is located at the west end of the “J. Max Davis” interchange on I-285. No, not that Max Davis, it’s named for his father, who was also named J. Max Davis. There are signs on 285 naming it such.
Nosey Dunwoody Neighbor
You really think 1 acre is a “reasonable location for a hotel” of this size? Bottom line is that this is a height issue and not a use issue. I would be irate if I lived in Kingston Gate and Chamblee was making me fight this absurd variance request. Good luck Kingston Gate.
Toff
Agreed. Needs a turn lane filter light to make a left onto Chamblee Dunwoody from Savoy as well.
birdhouse
Yes i do. The location (corner on a hwy interchange, 1 exit from Perimeter Center) absolutely makes sense. Squeezing onto a 1-acre parcel, maybe not so much – but I’d have to see a site plan showing building layout and how parking would fit. Also, would the trees between the townhouse and gas station be preserved? If so, I don’t see what the big deal is – would it be worse than a gas station/car wash?
City-Weary
There are site plans at chambleega.gov. The rooftop restaurant and “auto plaza” which is the drive up rotunda are in the area closest to the townhomes. 15 feet away.
Eddie E.
Yes, I’m glad you can cut and paste.
I just look at the fact I have boycotted the entire area since Dumpwoody started the ‘cityhood slide’.
I can buy attain anything that is there at a more civilized location.
yakety-yak!
It’s the JOBS, Eddie! The JOBS that EMPLOY people is what makes a community vibrant and desireable. So what if you don’t shop in Dunwoody? I imagine the 1,000’s of people that live and work there do!
Eddie E.
Good for them.
Too bad they didn’t get the message about the contraction in value and patronage of ‘malls’ worldwide.
Too bad Dumpwoody has bet the farm on making that white elephant their ‘tax base’ gamble.
birdhouse
Saw it – obviously the ‘auto plaza’ would be better off Savoy or on C-D closer to the corner, but doesn’t look like it would be any closer than the existing southernmost entrance into the gas station/wireless world.