The Deerfield Village apartments at 13085 Morris Road were zoned in 1997 and built in 2001 as part of Fulton County, before Milton’s incorporation as a city, with 554 units or 18.43 units per acre.

If the complex were to be built today, the density of units would be much lower. In an effort to plan ahead for the future, the Milton City Council voted to “correct a legal non-conformity with respect to density.” The change in zoning has no impact on what’s there now other than to officially permit the buildings, tennis courts, pool and fencing.

In the future if a natural disaster destroyed the apartments, or a developer decided to tear them down and rebuild, the revised zoning would result in fewer units per acre.

As an example, the city stated, “this means that if a tornado, for example, ruined one Deerfield Village building or a tennis court, those could be rebuilt as is. But if more than 60% of the complex was to be rebuilt, it would have to be in accordance with the stricter T-5 requirement.”

About the Author

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT