Even though members of the Hall County Planning Commission agreed the county needs more assisted living options for special needs adults, they voted down a rezoning application for a facility on Bogus Road at a meeting Thursday evening.
Calling for the vote after a lengthy public hearing, Commission Chairman Don Smallwood told applicant Seth Barnes with Adventures in Missions (AIM) that the decision was not an easy one for the board.
"There are a lot of unknowns here and that makes us nervous...it's hard for us to make a decision," Smallwood said.
Barnes told the planning board that Flourish, while occupying space on the AIM property, would be its own 5013C. The model for the complex is based on Brookwood, a facility in Katy, Texas.
Board member Chris Braswell said the idea behind the project was a good one, but the location for the proposed complex - consisting of up to four homes that would house as many as 12 residents per home - was not viable.
"If this was a project that was located on a larger tract that had access to a main highway, it would make a big difference," Braswell said. "I'm glad somebody's trying to do this. If it's important enough to you - which I think it probably is - maybe there's a better location."
Ultimately, the planning board members were unanimous in their decision to deny the request to rezone 12.32 acres on Bogus Road near the intersection of Claude Pack Road.
Following the meeting, Barnes said he was discouraged by opposition voiced by nine neighbors, some of whom said they had financially supported the work of AIM, but were not on board with the residential complex.
"I'm discouraged that with the neighbors we didn't have good standing with them to begin with," Barnes said. "I'm going to come up with a plan to reach out to them. I don't want to go in with an agenda to convince them one way or the other. I do want this to go forward...but I wish we had better standing with our neighbors."
The rezoning application still must go before the Hall County Commission on Oct. 25. Barnes said he will be talking with his team to determine what plan of action to take in the next few weeks.
