NPU-B Denies Rezoning for Sembler Co. Project

NPU-B Tuesday night turned down for the second time the Sembler Co.'s rezoning request for a retail project at Piedmont Road and Lindbergh Drive.

Sembler sought to rezone land in the corridor along Morosgo and Adina drives from high density residential to high density commercial for what has previously been described as a grocery store. But NPU Chairperson Sally Silver and other NPU members have expressed concern that the project would turn out to be of much larger scale than a typical supermarket.

The NPU previously rejected the rezoning for the SPI-15 area near the Lindbergh MARTA Station because Sembler didn't have a site plan to show the board. Silver on Tuesday said the company had indicated its willingness to offer a "conceptual" site plan, but the board again unanimously rejected the rezoning request.

Silver had called the NPU into executive session to take the vote, although three reporters remained in the Hyland Center at during the discussion and vote.

NPU members expressed concern that Sembler is seeking to build a "big box" store, possibly a Lowe's, at the site. Silver said that such a store would bring in traffic from outside the area, countering SPI-15 aims to make the site a vibrant urban area of high-rise apartments and condos with small, local shops and restaurants. The area, near Sembler's Home Depot-anchored Lindbergh Plaza, consists of apartments and shops around the Lindbergh MARTA station.