A more than 200-lot subdivision proposed for Friendship Road will go before the Hall County Board of Commissioners in December after a rezoning request was okayed by the county planning commission Monday evening.
The neighborhood is being proposed by Edge City Properties, Inc. on a more than 74-acre tract of land on the south side of Friendship Road just west of Williams Road and the Windgate subdivision. Several Windgate residents and other neighbors of the property spoke against the development at the planning commission's meeting.
John Collins said he moved to the South Hall neighborhood from Norcross.
"The whole idea of moving out to the country was to get away from all the congestion," Collins said. "One of the things that sells our houses is the size of the lot. If you put 200-plus little shotgun houses in there, I really don't care what you say, over time it will diminish our property value."
Other residents expressed concerns over increased traffic on what they called a dangerous area of Friendship Road.
The property, which has been owned by longtime resident Jimmy Williams, is also partially in Gwinnett County. Edge City Properties representatives said they are also making efforts to get proper rezoning with Gwinnett commissioners.
Hall planners recommended the rezoning unanimously. Board Chairman Don Smallwood said the development on the property was inevitable.
"There's going to be something on the Williams property. If you get this pushed down, it'll be something else and you may be careful because you might get what you ask for," Smallwood said. "We never have a project like this that there's not some amount of problems that has to be worked out, and change always gets somebody."
The rezoning request for the subdivision will go before the Hall County Commission at its December 14 voting session.
