Hall County Commissioners gave final approval Wednesday to a series of changes to the county's Planned Residential Development code.
The changes will enforce a series of standards for developments in PRD zoning. Those standards encompass design elements like lot size, home size, landscaping and minimum green space. No citizens spoke at Wednesday's public hearing and no one spoke against the changes at any of the county's hearings on the changes.
"What it comes down to, the board of commissioners have been putting these conditions on PRD's, typically, anyway," Hall County Planning Director Srikanth Yamala said. "So this is not as if this is a huge code change."
District One Commissioner Kathy Cooper made the motion to approve the changes, while also adding several new conditions. Those conditions included:
- Requiring neighborhoods in PRD with 150 or more homes to have at least two entrances. Neighborhoods with 400 or more homes will need at least three.
- Requiring lots served by sanitary sewer to be at least 8,000 square feet.
- Limiting neighborhood density in the zoning to two lots per acre
Commissioners approved Cooper's motion unanimously. District Four Commissioner Jeff Stowe thanked the county's planning staff for coming up with the code changes.
"I know we had a lot of conversation about these changes and afterwards I think we had a couple of meetings with some developers to tweak," Stowe said. "I think we've got a much better product."
A release by the Hall County Government said the changes will take effect immediately. Planned Residential Development is the county's newest zoning, having first been added to the zoning code in 2003.
