DECATUR, Ga. — People are concerned that more noise could be coming to their neighborhood after zoning changes in the area.
Those changes could allow a nonprofit in Decatur to operate in a way that means even more gatherings.
Channel 2’s Cory James was outside the Wylde Center Oakhurst Garden during WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Most of the neighbors he spoke to say the support having the urban greenspace there, but after measuring the decibel noise level during a Wednesday night event, they are concerned.
“Thankfully, this is only lasting an hour,” neighbor Steve Miller, who lives directly behind the center.
The City of Decatur as a 65 decibel limit for events. At some points during Wednesday night’s event, a fundraising event measured at more than 70 decibels.
“The sound can be so loud, and the base can be so loud, it rattles your windows, rattles your walls,” Miller said.
Miller spoke at Monday’s Decatur City Commission meeting expressing his concerns about allowing the nonprofit to host up to 12 amplified fundraising events under its new zoning designation.
“I knew Sally Wylde, and this was not her mission for the garden,” Miller said. “I’m happy with the garden being there. Why do they have to have to have concerts?”
Another neighbor undergoing cancer treatment agrees.
“I just started chemotherapy, so I’m tired and everything. I just wanted to take a nap, and at four, I started hearing thumping,” Agape McQueen said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Suspect dead, officer injured in shooting on I-575 in Woodstock
- Woman accused of shoplifting from same metro Atlanta Walmart 16 times
- Metro Atlanta man followed teen girls for miles, beaten when confronted, deputies say
Stephanie Van Parys, the executive director for the local urban greenspace, says that rezoning was necessary to be in compliance with the city.
She says that while they are allowed to hold up to 80 private events, none of those events can have amplified sound.
But some residents are worried about parking.
“It’s Decatur, so every street’s a residential street, so parking is always a concern when there are events, but, when managed properly, the neighbors aren’t typically inconvenienced,” Mayor Tony Powers said.
But Miller says he and others are being inconvenienced.
“If this continues I guess I’ll have to involve the police or write the commissioners,” Miller said.
Van Parys says that, though allowed, they have no plans to jump from their current 30 events to 80. Instead, she says it will grow gradually over time.
She also says that they are adding a phone number to their website where neighbors can speak with someone on site if there are concerns with parking or noise levels.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
