Earlier this month, the City of Decatur approved plans to allow some multi-family homes on single-family lots.
In the summer, Decatur will consider applications for duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, or single-family homes with an accessory unit. The city will approve only a handful of permits for what’s known as “missing middle” housing – places that fall between a single-family home and an apartment complex.
The goal is to make Decatur more affordable and diverse.
“What we saw from our research is just how dramatically prices have increased because we are in a desirable area,” said Kristin Allin, a former city planner in Decatur who worked on affordable housing initiatives.
Up until the late 1980s, the city allowed this type of housing, but the city followed national trends of moving toward only single-family home zoning. Houses got bigger and more expensive, and as property taxes grew, residents got priced out.
“When they’re forced out of those homes, people typically tear that home down,” Allin said. “Because there’s only been one option, people build a big, single-family home.”
According to real estate company Rocket Homes, in January, the median home price in the city of Decatur was nearly $700,000. True to its goal of addressing housing affordability, the Decatur City Commission unanimously adopted multi-family zoning amendments that will go into effect at the end of June.
That was, however, against the recommendation of the city’s planning commission, which still had questions after hearing more than 6 hours of testimony from residents both for and against the plan.
Like from David Zimmer, a resident of Decatur who said he was concerned about the quality of life in neighborhoods with this kind of housing.
“Having rental units leads to less responsibility in many cases, and the increased density is going to add to traffic and noise in addition to that,” Zimmer said. “There should be more thought given to quality of life issues and not just diversity and affordability.
The room erupted in applause after Zimmer finished his comments.
But missing middle housing already exists in Decatur and around metro Atlanta, and people shared their support as well. Jacob Buchanan has lived in Decatur for about ten years.
“Historically, single-family zoning has been used as a tool of segregation and currently, right now, is being used as a tool to drive up property prices,” he said. “Single-family zoning is a problem that is exclusive to the United States of America.”
Three permits per city lower elementary school district will be approved through December 2024.
