SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — After a 13-month comprehensive review of the city’s unified development code, the Sandy Springs City Council approved a series of updates Dec. 5.
About 40 people attended the public hearing, including leaders of community organizations, lawyers and small business owners.
The comprehensive review process, which began in November 2022, included a Sept. 26 open house and a submittal period, which allowed community input on development code updates.
The most contentious updates to the development code centered around the use provisions in Article 7 of the code relating to gas stations and neighborhood eateries.
Most speakers Dec. 5 said they wanted to preserve language that requires gas stations be located at least one-half mile apart. An earlier proposal had called for removing that requirement.
Rhonda Smith, president of the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods, also served on the advisory committee for the city’s 2017 Next Ten Comprehensive Plan.
Smith said there was overwhelming public opposition to removing the distance requirement for gas stations.
About 75 percent of the public comments received between Sept. 26 and Oct. 18 advocated against removing the distance requirement, the other 25 percent did not mention the proposed change, Smith said.
Representatives from the RaceTrac on Roswell Road spoke in favor of removing the half-mile distance requirement for gas stations.
“We are fully in support of the City of Sandy Springs, its past development initiatives and future development endeavors,” RaceTrac Real Estate Director John Priede said. “RaceTrac would like to be a part of it.”
Priede argued that denying Article 7 and removing the half-mile restriction would spur competition.
While representatives said they’d like to see more flexibility, the council voted to keep the distance requirement.
Residents…
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