Rezoning Request Update

Background

In the past three years, Clairmont Hills Baptist Church has undertaken many projects to upgrade, repair, and maintain our facilities. One of the projects identified was to upgrade our sign on the corner of North Druid Hills and Clairmont Roads.

Some funds were given for the possibility of placing an electronic sign in place of the current sign, similar to those erected by several businesses nearby. Not only would this allow us to publicize activities sponsored by our church but also community activities of interest.

As we pursued the possibility of acquiring an electronic sign, we discovered that we do not have the proper zoning. Churches historically were not required to rezone when they acquired land and buildings. When this church was begun in 1956, the corner was zoned residential, and the church was not required to seek rezoning at that time. In other words, the land is still zoned as residential even though our church has used it as the home of our facilities for over 50 years.

DeKalb County has informed us that to proceed with the sign upgrade, we will need to have the proper zoning, which is a commercial designation. Our sole purpose for seeking the rezoning is to be able to upgrade our sign. No other changes in our ministry or in the use of our land are sought or envisioned. We have been here for over 50 years and expect to be here for the next 50!

The sign we hope to place would be in the same physical location as the current sign. The LED sign would be computer controlled, and can be set to lower its light intensity at night and even turned off altogether if desired. As an example, our church could elect to lengthen the life of the sign by turning it off during the hours of, say, midnight and 6 a.m.

Community Meeting

On Tuesday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m., Clairmont Hills Baptist Church welcomed the community for a meeting to discuss a request for rezoning for the purpose of updating our sign. About 30 people gathered to hear information, ask questions, and make comments. While there were several questions and comments, a straw poll at the end of the meeting indicated that everyone present was fine with the church continuing to pursue the request. Some questions and comments will follow the background information presented.

Questions and Comments

Dale McClain, the chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee at Clairmont Hills Baptist Church, gave some further information. Dale is a graduate of Georgia Tech and is an architect. He shared that the only purpose for the rezoning is for the purpose of upgrading our sign and that the church is seeking C-1 zoning, which he said is actually less intensive in what it allows than what the church currently has. As examples, he said that under the current guidelines for this zoning, if anyone were ever to purchase the property, they would have to have a fifty foot buffer from any residential property. (In other words, any new use of the land would require more of a buffer than is currently given.) Further, this zoning designation is limited to two stories.

One neighbor thought it would have been a good idea to have alerted the neighborhood group about the meeting. Mr. McClain responded that that would have been an excellent idea; the church simply followed the guidance that was given to us in speaking to the county and working with the vendor for our sign upgrade. The church had advertised the meeting through the marquee, through free standing signs, and the website.

Someone asked how far along in the process the church is. Mr. McClain stated that this was the initial step. The next step will be to make application with the county. It was estimated that the process could take several months and that the earliest the sign can be erected would likely be in March 2010.

Mr. McClain also shared that the new sign will be in exactly the same location as the current sign and almost identical in size. It will give the church the ability to have the same message displayed on all sides by rotating the messages through computer software. He indicated that we will not only place church messages but messages of community interest.

In response to a question about whether the sign would be a distraction to drivers, a representative of the sign company said that DeKalb County regulates such things, and church representatives assured the attendees of the church's desire to be a good neighbor. Mr. McClain reiterated that the light intensity can be turned down at night and that it is likely that it would be turned off during some hours of the night when most people are asleep.

Another comment was made that the church might consider sharing information with the residents of apartments across the street.

While it was expressed by one that there was a hope that this rezoning would not be the first step in other properties being rezoned, no one seemed concerned at all about what the church is seeking to do. Church representatives again reiterated that the zoning designation sought is not one that would cause a lot of intrusion into the neighborhood and seemed to be designed for areas of mixed use so as to avoid problems such as other neighborhoods have experienced.

Community Council Meeting of December 21, 2009

On December 21, 2009, at 6:30 p.m., the rezoning request (Case number is Z-10-16126) was on the agenda of the DeKalb County Community Council Meeting. The meeting was held at the Toco Hill Library.

No one on the Community Council or in the public spoke against the church's intent for a sign. Ted Daniel, a member of the Community Council as well as the President of the Leafmore Creek Park Hills Civic Association, speaking from the latter position, said that there was no opposition from the civic association, suggesting that the sign be turned off late at night and that there be a stipulation that if the church were to ever sell the property that the zoning would revert to its current residential zoning. The church representatives present indicated no problem with the reversion to current zoning in the event of a sale, since there is no intent whatever by the church to sell the property.

Another Community Council member had no opposition at all to the sign but gave the opinion that it was "overkill" to change the zoning for the 5+ acres for simply the erection of an electronic sign. He felt that this could be accomplished by a simple variance. A representative of the county, a representative of the church, and a representative of the sign company each briefly spoke, stating that a variance was the initial idea but that the church was advised to instead go through the rezoning process.

The Community Council voted to recommend to the county that the rezoning be denied with their on-the-record remarks showing that they had no difficulty with the church wanting to upgrade the sign, as it will be the same size of the current sign; they simply want the county to provide a variance instead.

The Community Council acts in an advisory role; the process will continue with the two Public Hearings described below. The final decision will be made by the Board of Commissioners. The church, even though advised to move through the rezoning process, will seek more information on a possible variance even as the process continues with the possible rezoning.

Public Hearings in January

Two DeKalb County Public Hearings were scheduled as part of the process of this rezoning request.

The zoning request is from R-100 (Single Family) to C-1 (Local Commercial), which as stated above is the least intensive zoning that will allow the erection of the proposed electronic sign.

Dates and times for these two Public Hearings were:
Planning Commission: January 5, 2010, at 6:30 p.m.
Board of Commissioners: January 26, 2010, at 6:30 p.m.

In these two public hearings, no one spoke against the church's desire for a sign; however, some were concerned about the rezoning itself in case the property ever ceased being the site for a church. In the end, the commissioners decided to put off the decision for a cycle, instead directing staff to amend the sign ordinance to allow churches and schools to have electronic signs in a residential zoning if on major roads. (The reason for seeking the rezoning in the first place was the prohibition.) Commissioners stated that other churches were beginning to make similar requests and they would rather handle these by a change in the sign ordinance rather than a change in zoning.

This is now being pursued by the county.

February/March

The county has proceeded with a new sign ordinance that will make it unnecessary to rezone our property. While awating approval of the new ordinance, we have dropped our request for rezoning without prejudice, which means we will be able to pursue it again if the ordinance is not finally approved.

For more information from DeKalb County, call 404-371-2155. The case number is Z-10-16126.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us. We will update this story as we move through the process.