Oldfield Road flood-rule exception returns to Atlanta committee agenda Oct. 13

A proposal to relax Atlanta’s flood-elevation requirement for existing structures at 2428 Oldfield Road NW is on the City Utilities Committee’s Oct. 13 agenda. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m.; the exception remains on the held docket, not approved.⁠[1][2]

The difference concerns the margin between a structure’s lowest floor and flood levels. The proposed ordinance says Atlanta normally requires the greater of three feet above base flood elevation or two feet above the highest observed flood. This property’s exception would allow lowest floors two feet above base flood elevation.⁠[2]

That is not necessarily a simple one-foot reduction: the ordinary rule also accounts for the highest observed flood. The proposal would replace that two-part test with the specified base-flood threshold for currently existing structures at this address.⁠[2]

Councilmember Matt Westmoreland’s ordinance would direct Watershed Management and City Planning to issue permits or approvals under the exception. It would retain all other city-code requirements rather than exempt the property from flood regulations altogether.⁠[2]

The legislative history records a committee hold Sept. 29 and a full Council return to committee as held Oct. 5. Neither action granted the waiver. Tuesday’s agenda placement is another opportunity for consideration, not a promised final vote or an expressly noticed public hearing.⁠[1][2]