GAINESVILLE – Tuesday evening members of the Hall County Planning Commission suggested a developer table a rezoning request because it included an aspect which Hall County officials had never considered before.
Commission Chairman Chris Braswell said, “This is the first of its kind in Hall County and we need to make sure we get it right.”
The unprecedented consideration to which Braswell was referring involved a rezoning request from FIDES Development and a plan to construct 305 long-term upscale rental units on the shore of Lake Lanier at the end of North Waterworks Road just outside of the Buford city limits.
The developer agreed. “There isn’t a development like this in Hall County that can either set precedent for what we are looking to accomplish here tonight, or can serve as a guiding inspiration for how to handle this type of approval,” John Hillman of FIDES told commissioners.
The 16.28-acre site in Big Creek has become a decaying mixture of old mobile homes and rusting boat docks zoned Agricultural Residential-III and Vacation Cottage, and area residents are anxious to have the neglected site turned into something more sustainable.
Longtime area resident Morgan Hudgens told commissioners, “The docks have just become dilapidated and falling into the water…and I think anytime we’re scraping fifty-year-old trailers off to put brand new development on there, resort style, it’s a good thing.”
FIDES Project Engineer Bob Vance told commissioners, “We’re going to be self-sufficient as far as sanitary sewer goes; we will get rid of all the septic tanks that are onsite today from the old trailer park, and we will have a packaged treatment plant that is used at Emory and is used at resorts all over the country. They’ve been very successful and that’s what we would use here.”
“I think this is a great opportunity for people from Atlanta who can’t afford the million-dollar home to have the lake-life,” Vance added.
Nonetheless, the project isn’t moving forward without opposition. Five area residents spoke of the concerns they had with the venture, concerns which included traffic congestion, security issues and decreasing property values caused by a high-density rental complex locating in an area of established residential neighborhoods.
Teresa Cantrell lives near the site and told commissioners she strongly opposed the development being recommended for approval that night without more vetting of others affected by the project. “There’s way too many details to try to talk through and hash through tonight. Table this so we can meet with these folks and talk with them,” Cantrell urged.
Signs advertising the rezoning application by FIDES and the opportunity for public comment had been posted as required by law but because of the remoteness of the property few people saw them Cantrell said. “It’s not conspicuous…it’s at the end of this road, at a dead end, where it’s desolate and abandoned, was where the sign is. Nobody saw it so that’s why there is nobody here. I promise you there are people who care about this.”
“We know that with the City of Buford that close you have that up against you; that if you say ‘No’ they’ll say ‘Yes’,” Cantrell added. “Believe me, we understand that.”
Commissioners said concerns they had about the higher-than-usual density of the development, the lack of detail regarding the breakdown of apartment sizes and price points, insufficient information regarding the overall traffic flow and possible right-of-way issues, the questioned number of parking spots provided for residents and guests, the total amount of green space within the development and the lack of interaction between the developer and neighbors of the project as reasons to table the application.
“I do think some more thought has to go into it,” Braswell said of the possible precedent-setting application. “I hate tabling it but I don’t think we have a choice, and that would give you an opportunity to speak with these folks, and they may have some good ideas.”
“The decisions we make affect Hall County long-term, so we need more information” Braswell added.
The developer agreed and the measure was tabled until the August 2nd Planning Commission meeting.
