Zoning committee approves ordinance requiring push-button pedestrian entrances

The Zoning Committee approved an amendment to the Atlanta zoning code on a 6–0 vote requiring primary pedestrian entrances to provide push-button activators where a building's relationship to the street is required. Council Member Liliana Batiari moved the measure, and the motion was seconded.

The ordinance (listed in the meeting materials as Z-2601001 / Z-2,571) would amend the 1982 Atlanta zoning ordinance to add the push-button requirement. Director of Zoning and Development Hietta Holmes told the committee staff, the neighborhood planning unit (NPU) and the Citizen Review Board (CRB) recommended approval.

Supporters said the change would improve accessibility at street-facing entrances, particularly for people with mobility challenges. In the meeting, Batiari said the BeltLine overlay and related site controls would help ensure the change did not unintentionally permit incompatible uses.

The committee vote clears the measure at the zoning-committee level; the item was introduced as ordinance text for consideration in the committee and will proceed through the normal legislative process. No separate public comment was recorded for this item at the meeting.

Committee members voted unanimously to approve the amendment. The committee did not record any abstentions.