The City of Dunwoody will hold a Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop on Tuesday, April 22 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the North Shallowford Annex. The comprehensive plan creates a shared vision for growth and development.
“We invite the public to review the character areas identified in the draft comp plan and help refine policies for each one,” said Dunwoody Community Development Director Richard McLeod, in a release from the city. “It’s especially important that we hear input about desired scale and intensity.”
Dunwoody has 12 defined character areas, including Perimeter, Dunwoody Village, Georgetown East and West, Jett Ferry, Winters Chapel, Brook Run Park, and Peachtree Boulevard.
The public is invited to stop by 4470 N. Shallowford Road to take a closer look at the plan’s policies for growth and development, and provide feedback on final details.
The Dunwoody project team gave an update on a draft to the comprehensive plan at a joint meeting of the Dunwoody City Council, Planning Commission, Dunwoody Development Authority and Zoning Board of Appeals on April 1. The presentation slides can be found here.
Part of the fact-gathering process has involved community engagement events – including Dream Dunwoody Workshop at Park Place, Back-to-School Night at the Dunwoody Village, Holiday Lights at Brook Run Park, Pics in the Park at Pernoshal Park, the Hispanic Heritage Cultural Celebration at Ashford Lane, and pamphlet distribution at the Ravinia and in five Dunwoody parks.
The initial survey made available by the city garnered 1,076 survey responses and 1,588 unique comments.
Recurring themes heard during information gathering included :
- A need for additional housing in both quantity and type, particularly for first-time buyers and seniors;
- The desire to see a “Downtown Dunwoody” with walkable shops and restaurants;
- An affinity for local centers like Dunwoody Village and the desire to see them grown and develop;
- Concern over vacant retail and office spaces impacting economic development & growth;
- Negative feelings about traffic congestion, with citizens wanting more connectivity and alternative routes around the city;
- The desire to keep neighborhood character and greenspaces preserved.
The slide presentation made to city council in January can be found here.
Once finalized, according to the release, the comprehensive plan will guide the unified development ordinance (UDO) rewrite — the second phase of Direction Dunwoody.
This rewrite will update all of the city’s development-related regulations that determine what can be built and implements the development vision in the comprehensive plan.
