The Atlanta Zoning Review Board on Thursday advanced a proposal to build a 47-microunit apartment building for unhoused seniors in residential Kirkwood, to the chagrin of the neighborhood groups trying to kill the project.
Stryant Investments’ plan to build the affordable housing complex on an empty lot owned by Turner Monumental AME Church next door has drawn fierce opposition from hundreds of Kirkwood residents, who fear it would be far too dense for the single-family community.
Both the Kirkwood Neighbors Organization and the local neighborhood planning unit, NPU-O, recently voted against upzoning the 0.66-acre lot located at 88 Howard St. from single-family to Planned Development Housing (PD-H), which allows higher density residential construction.
The Zoning Review Board’s Feb. 12 approval of upzoning the site to PD-H in the face of widespread community resistance reflects a common dynamic in planning battles over housing projects for unhoused Atlantans — a vocal neighborhood opposition to increased density versus housing advocates who see it as the most effective way to ameliorate homelessness.
The project’s supporters view the opposition campaign as typical “not in my backyard” NIMBYism — not only to the apartment building, but because it would house Atlantans who’ve been living on the streets. The complex would support their housing transition with services for substance use, mental health, and skills training.
But local opponents raised concerns that adding a complex to their neighborhood could equate to “warehousing” people, packing 47 residents into units of under 300 square feet — and with only two parking spaces. One longtime Kirkwood resident, Madison Jenkins, said that neighbors want to keep the lot next to the church vacant. “This rezoning threatens the safety of our green space,” he said.
That’s just camouflage for the neighbors’ real worry about unhoused people joining their community, said Jeffrey Cooper, a pastor at Turner Monumental AME. “Oftentimes, what people are talking about is not really what they’re talking about,” he said at the zoning meeting. “We’re talking about people who are sleeping in parking lots, as we get ready to debate parking spaces.”
However, an attorney enlisted by several Kirkwood residents offered a different take. Josh Belinfante of the Robbins Firm argued that the development doesn’t square with the proposed new PD-H zoning code, because it won’t be strictly residential.
“Offices will be maintained within the facility for the provision of certain services to the residents, such as counseling or basic life-skills training,” Belinfante said. “That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not something that is permitted in a PD-H zoned area.”
But Allen Hall, who spent years living unhoused in Kirkwood and neighboring areas, rejected the opponents’ stated objections. “The true reason for their denial is the bad stigma they place on homeless people,” he said.
With the Zoning Review Board’s approval, the upzoning proposal heads to the Atlanta City Council’s Zoning Committee for review on Feb. 23. A full council vote is anticipated on March 2.