Chamblee — The City Council unanimously approved variances 1 through 5 and waivers 1 and 2 for a townhouse project at New Peachtree Road and VJ Drive on Oct. 21, but set several conditions and heard public requests for additional traffic and infrastructure requirements.

Council’s approval requires the development to be built in substantial conformity with the site plan and elevations received Aug. 14, 2025, with revisions required by the approval conditions and final review by the planning and development director. Conditions include submitting the land‑disturbance permit with a FEMA letter of map revision for the floodplain for city engineer and public works review; designing a maintenance solution along the western property line near an existing retaining wall to reduce trash accumulation; and ensuring that townhouses will be metered and titled individually to allow individual ownership. The approval also permits smaller front porches for units with front‑loading garages (porch less than 8 feet wide and 6 feet deep) per condition 5.

During public comment, Philip Catalano, who identified himself as a nearby resident, asked the council to require an independent traffic study before issuing the permit, saying the project’s permit materials list “at least 282 cars” added to a single ingress/egress and predicting total vehicle activity (including retail and deliveries) could reach “400 to 500 cars a day.” Catalano asked that developers be required to fund infrastructure improvements including signals, road widening, sidewalks and pedestrian safety features and that the city require mechanisms to encourage owner‑occupancy.

Another resident raised similar traffic issues and urged the council to pursue Georgia Department of Transportation and federal assistance to reopen an underpass at Eighth Street and to address truck parking and water‑pressure concerns in adjacent neighborhoods.

Local business owner Eddie Eulard told the council the site’s approval would extinguish seven businesses and a church, including four auto‑service businesses, and urged the council to consider the longer‑term consequences of removing those services from the city. "By removing seven options for auto service from the city, these people are going to have to get their cars fixed somewhere," Eulard said.

Council’s action is conditional rather than permitting immediate construction: it requires the applicant to provide the FEMA Letter of Map Revision and to incorporate design solutions and ownership/titling mechanisms as described. The motion passed unanimously; the council recorded no votes against the conditions and asked staff to work with the applicant on the stated items.

The development and the conditions will return to staff for technical review before final permitting.