The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners is discussing zoning changes which residents hope will lead to greater economic opportunity and creation of a distinctive Greater Hidden Hills community in east DeKalb.

“This is a blueprint for a better community,” DeKalb resident Phyllis Frierson said April 21 during a presentation on the DeKalb County Planning and Development Department’s proposed overlay district for the area surrounding Hidden Hills Country Club in the Redan area. “It connects residents to places and will attract business.”

Ms. Frierson served on a committee of Greater Hidden Hills community members who approached the county with the idea of creating the overlay district.

An overlay district is a special zoning classification that sets design standards for buildings, protects green space and allows for the construction of sidewalks and trails to connect pedestrians to retail and commercial outlets.

Residents approached the county with the plan in December 2007. The county’s Planning and Development Department began the Greater Hidden Hills Community Overlay study in April 2008.

The study was presented to the board last week.

The proposed district is bordered by Redan Road in the north, Panola Road in the east, Covington Highway in the south and South Hairston Road in the west.

Land uses within the area range from Redan High School and a Kroger shopping center in the north, to residential and recreational uses in the south.

“I am very excited about this project,” District 5 Commissioner Lee May said at the April 21 meeting. “This has been a very painstaking process but it was well worth it.”

The study calls for the creation of a community brand to be placed on signs on major corridors entering and leaving the community.

The study also encourages the county to buy available open land — like the now-closed Snapfinger Golf Course — for the construction of pedestrian trails, parks and community centers.