Commission defers citywide medical-institution zoning text amendment for further review

The East Point Planning and Zoning Commission voted to defer a city-initiated text amendment to section 10-20-71, the Medical Institutional (MI) zoning-district regulations, giving staff time to refine the draft language and respond to commissioners'questions.

Director Smith told the commission the draft revises the MI district to streamline the district's scope and intent, keep hospitals as a permanent use, and move many auxiliary or supporting uses (cafes, pharmacies, physical therapy, gift shops, etc.) into an administrative-permit category so they would not have to return to the commission or City Council. Staff also noted a moratorium placed in October of the prior year on MI applications and said the amendment aims to protect existing medical institutional land uses in the city.

Commissioners discussed multiple topics, including whether housing coupled with medical uses would be permitted by right (staff said it would not), whether on-site laundry for hospitals should be allowed or required to be off-site, and whether hospice care, research-and-development uses, or other auxiliary functions should be specifically listed. Commissioner Presley urged the commission to redact certain uses to make the MI district more attractive to potential hospital investors; Commissioner Anderson and others raised concerns about accessory uses that could create environmental complications (e.g., laundromat chemical runoff) and asked staff to clarify which auxiliary operations would be permitted administratively versus by use permit.

After discussion, Commissioner Presley moved to defer the amendment to a later meeting to allow staff to incorporate requested clarifications and to provide additional supporting analysis; the motion carried. Director Smith had recommended deferral at the start of the discussion because commissioners were reviewing the draft for the first time and staff wanted to give the commission more information.

The amendment is city-initiated and applies citywide to MI-zoned properties; staff said the intent is to preserve current medical-institution land uses and to make the MI district clearer for future applicants. The commission's deferral means staff will return with a revised draft and additional analysis at a later date.