The draft of the overlay code for the proposed Greater Hidden Hills District will be discussed during a public meeting on Nov. 16.

The public comment meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Lou Walker Senior Center, 2538 Panola Road in Lithonia.

The Atlanta Regional Commission, the DeKalb County Planning Department and the Greater Hidden Hills Steering Committee have been refining the code, which will dictate growth plans for the proposed district in Stone Mountain.

The 15 neighborhoods making up the proposed Hidden Hills Overlay District are marked by aging infrastructures, rampant foreclosures and declining housing stock.

The four-square-mile district has more than 5,000 homes and includes the abandoned Hidden Hills golf course and a proliferation of fast food restaurants and grocery stores.

Goals for the district – which is bounded by Covington Highway and South Hairston, Redan, Panola and Young roads – include:

Make the district’s shopping centers more attractive, competitive and economically sound.

Improve the streetscapes with desirable lighting, signs, sidewalks and green buffers.  

Keep out undesirable businesses.  

Preserve and enhance green space.

Promote multi-modal access that reduces reliance on cars.  

Protect established residential areas.

For more information, contact overlay district coordinator Jan Costello at hhcamail@yahoo.com or 770 815-0105.