Weekes Street Project

Proposed “Heights at East Decatur” Complex Would Add Over 300 Apartments and 500 Cars at Commerce and S. Columbia

UPDATE: At the public hearing on October 14, 2019, the Decatur Zoning Board of Appeals denied the stream buffer variance application for the proposed Weekes Street development — thank you to all who spoke up and worked for this result. On November 13, 2019, the impacted property owners filed an appeal of the ZBA’s denial of the stream buffer variance with the Superior Court of DeKalb County, East Decatur Station, LLC et al v. City of Decatur, GA case #19CV11465. The case was dismissed without prejudice on September 17, 2021. FoSC will continue to provide updates here and in social media.

WSE Development applied for a stream buffer variance for its Weekes Street project to build 322 apartments and 550 parking spaces on 4.2 acres fronting Commerce and S. Columbia Drives (also accessible from Weekes Street). The site is 400 feet north of Talley Street, a primary access to Talley Street Upper Elementary School. A new driveway to a multi-level parking deck will open onto S. Commerce, about 700 feet north of Talley. (Interactive map)

The complex would be built on top of an existing stream, and pave over approximately one acre of forested area. Read more about the project and process in some thorough coverage by Decaturish. The project would be known as the “Heights at East Decatur.” See a summary of impacts below.

The City’s Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) has called this proposal “highly problematic on both technical and procedural grounds” and has noted it would set a “dangerous precedent” and “undermine the City’s stated policy of protecting environmentally sensitive areas.” Read the ESB’s full comments here.

Sign a letter to the City to protect this green space and promote traffic safety

Friends of Shoal Creek is urging the City to preserve the creek and tree cover on the site. The City should consider alternatives to the project that would allow these natural resources to remain intact. The City is planning a park south of the project site — instead of paving over Shoal Creek and the adjacent forested buffer, these area should be included in the planned City park. Adequate environmental studies must be done to aid in these efforts, covering habitat impacts, tree loss, pedestrian safety, and green space.

A complete traffic analysis has yet to be done — and must include impacts to water quality from runoff, and impacts to pedestrian safety on nearby roadways.

Comments to the Zoning Board of Appeals can be sent directly to john.maximuk@decaturga.com. .

Extensive Tree Canopy and Habitat Loss

• The project would remove up to a full acre of mature trees, roughly half of which are in a protected stream buffer area.
• The developer has failed to conduct required analysis including on-site tree surveys, habitat surveys, or protected species surveys. This data is necessary for the required environmental mitigation, which must offset the impacts of the developer, per city Code.
• Federally protected bird species live in the vicinity and could experience habitat disruption.
• City code requires developers to submit alternative site designs when requesting a variance to build in a stream buffer. The developer has failed to submit alternative site designs, or evidence that there is no feasible alternative.

Headwaters of Shoal Creek Put in a Pipe

• 280 feet of the east-west branch of Shoal Creek would be buried in a permanent underground pipe, destroying habitat interactions between the creek and adjacent ecosystems. 
• Development would encroach into buffer areas of the North-South Branch of Shoal Creek.
• Developer has failed to consider alternatives to save the stream and stream buffer area.
• City code requires the developer to submit a less intrusive alternative or prove that there are no feasible alternatives.

More than 500 parking spaces added at Commerce/S. Columbia

• A driveway to a multi-level parking deck would open near where S. Columbia becomes Commerce, increasing traffic past Talley Street, where the new Talley Street Upper Elementary has recently opened. 
• The Zoning Board of Appeals has not studied traffic impacts, including safety impacts on families traveling to and from Talley Street School.
• It is not clear that the effect of the proposed stoplights on S. Columbia at Talley and Shadowmoor have been considered in evaluating this new apartment development.

City code requires the Zoning Board of Appeals to consider the environmental effects of the variance, and mitigate them by offsetting the effects of the project. The board must consider whether the variance is “at least as protective of natural resources and the environment.” The City of Decatur’s comprehensive plans call for conservation of streams and green space in this area.

We believe this property presents an opportunity for the City to preserve existing green space and improve traffic safety in this part of Decatur.

Tell the City to preserve green space and promote traffic safety here

Comments may also be submitted at any time to john.maximuk@decaturga.com.

Further Information

• A copy of the developer’s initial application materials is available here.
• Additional application materials and public comments before the August 12 hearing have been posted by the City here.
• More application materials have been posted by the City in advance of the September 9 meeting, here.
• Additional materials for the Oct. 14 meeting are posted here.
• Video of the May public hearing is available here (Item III.C)
• Video of the June public hearing is available here (Item II.B)
• Video of the August public hearing is available here (Item III.A)
• Video of the October public hearing is available here (Item III.C)
• More photos of the site and information are available at our Facebook page.
• Or contact us with questions at friendsofshoalcreek@gmail.com.