Changes planned to stalled mega-development

GAINESVILLE - A mega-residential development in South Hall is taking a hit from the recession like so much of the housing market in the country... and the City of Gainesville is considering some zoning amendment changes that might help get it back on track.

You may have noticed the run-down and overgrown look to the 600-plus acres on either side of Mundy Mill Road just west of McEver.

When plans for the REL Properties developement were approved by the Gainesville City Council six years ago, it was to include about 2,000 homes and amenities such as a clubhouse, tennis courts, playgrounds and swimming pools... in addition to a retail/office component. Today much of that remains unfinished.

Now, the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board is being asked to update the existing zoning standards in order to, quote, better address current market conditions.

The applications says the proposed amended conditions are intended to "maintain high quality of development standards while better clarifying and removing certain development from thriving due to market conditions."

Specifically, "the significant changes" to the conditions, which are listed on the planning board's Feb. 9 agenda, include, among others:

1) Clarifying that the cost of any necessary road improvements be prorated between the developers base on the property values.

2) Decreasing the minimum heated square-footage from 2,000 to 1,800 for single-family homes in the Magnolia Park section and from 1,600 to 1,500 for all other homes.

3) Removing the requirement to construct gazebos, grills and picnic tables within the green space areas, as well as, removing the requirement of tennis courts and the conversion of the old Bagwell residence into a club house within the amenity area.

The planning board's agenda notes that none of the roads have received a top coat of asphalt and some are in need of repairs to their base. Sidewalks have been installed only in front of the finished homes. Street signs and street lights are only partially completed. Sixty-seven single-family homes have been constructed with 52 of them occupied.

"The central and largest amenity site...has been partially constructed but is in poor condition," the application state. "This includes the old Bagwell estate home that was to be renovated as a club house, a partially constructed pool house, pool and four tennis courts, as well as a playground area which has not been constructed. Another amenity site containing a pool, pool house and playground has been constructed but has been under-maintained and is in poor condition.

ALSO ON THE FEB. 9 AGENDA

On the other side of the economic coin, there are some new signs that the north Georgia economy is slowly improving. For instance, a new commercial/business center is planned on Dawsonville Highway near Beechwood Boulevard in Gainesville. The city planning and appeals board is being asked to consider annexation and rezoning requests for the 11-acre, 49,000-square-foot complex. The property is the site of a former nursing home

In addition, planners will be asked to approve a rezoning application for a house at Park Street near Perry Street where Agora House has been operating a men's group home without a valid occupancy permit. The group home provides housing for recovering addicts while requiring them to work a full-time job, attend a 12-step daily meeting, weekly group therapy, and individual counseling. The men range in age from 18-65 with the average resident bing 27 years old.

Controversy erupted several years ago over the location of such facilities in Gainesville.

Also on the Feb. 9 agenda, is a request is for a Special Use Permt for a five-unit apartment house at Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard near Fair Street. My Sister's Place wants to use two of the units for a crisis center for women with an eye toward expanding in the future. It would be a shelter that provides a 90-day program that enables residents "to begin work, save money and organize their lives while providing food, shelter, clothing, personal development, job placement and a support system."