Plan for Stonecrest truck lot withdrawn

An effort to annex nearly 20 acres into Stonecrest for the development of a gravel truck parking lot is over — for now.

The applicant withdrew the annexation and rezoning application Monday after public opposition prolonged the process for months. Jody Campbell, an attorney representing the property owners, said they might return once they’re better prepared to handle the residents’ pushback and environmental concerns.

“There’s been a great deal of misinformation about the project,” Campbell

said during a Monday meeting.

The City Council — which appeared for an in-person meeting for the first time since March 2020 — voted unanimously to grant the withdrawal.

The property at 1724 Rogers Lake Road is in unincorporated Dekalb County and borders Stonecrest’s city limits. Campbell’s client, GBG 2 Lithonia Group, planned to bring their 19.7acre property into the city and rezone it to develop a gravel parking lot for hundreds of tractor-trailers.

Dekalb doesn’t allow gravel parking lots in its code, but Stonecrest does. The city revamped its zoning code last year to allow gravel lots because they can be less disruptive to tree root systems and are easier to maintain.

Campbell previously said gravel lots are significantly cheaper than asphalt,

and he argued the development would receive better regulation in Stonecrest while also bringing in extra tax revenue.

The project received significant opposition from residents, who continued pushing back on the annexation request via written comments read at the meet

ing. Residents said the city’s industrial sector is already too large and encumbering neighborhoods. They also raised concerns about the environmental concerns of diesel trucks, adding that southeast Dekalb has become a dumping ground for less desirable projects

that wouldn’t be proposed for more affluent cities, such as Dunwoody or Decatur.