GAINESVILLE – By the thinnest of margins, an application to allow for a boat and RV self-storage facility will be allowed on 9.9-acres at the intersection of Browns Bridge Road and Cherokee Trail.
Browns Bridge Road is an eclectic mixture of residential, commercial, and until Mincey Marble relocated, industrial development. Much of the commercial property use along the busy highway pre-dates zoning regulations to a time when lake-orientated neighborhoods were few and far between and agricultural use was common.
The road is also a part of Hall County’s Gateway Corridor Overlay District since it is a designated State Route (369) passing through the county and must meet unique development standards (Hall County Muni-code 17.420.030, A-10).
What all that means is there inevitably will be disagreement about any changes to existing zoning designations, and that has been the case since Lanier Luxe Self-Storage’s rezoning application first came before the Hall County Planning Commission in August. There it was met with strong opposition from surrounding homeowners.
Applicant Kent Henderson told members of the Hall County Commission Thursday evening, “If you drive down Browns Bridge there is residential…there is no area on Browns Bridge that you can go that you won’t impact residential.”
“There’s always going to impact on Browns Bridge because of the residential,” Henderson said, reminding commissioners that gateway corridors, most of which in Hall County have limited residential components, are where commercial development is intended to take place.
Henderson said, “This development completely lines up with our Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and it lines up under the Lake Supportive Corridor section…and those uses include…boat sales, storages, equipment sales…that pertain to Lake Lanier.”
One of the primary concerns expressed by area residents has been the effect of traffic on Cherokee Trail when tenants retrieve and return boats and RVs to the facility. The Georgia Department of Transportation had requested that the entrance into the storage area be from Cherokee Trail rather than from Browns Bridge Road, but that was unacceptable to those living in the neighborhood.
Cherokee Trail is the only way in and out of the neighborhoods and according to residents there is no place for a vehicle pulling a large trailer to turn around if the diver missed the entrance gate.
That issue, however, was put to rest Thursday evening when Henderson told commissioners, “There was some discussion in the Planning Commission about having an entrance off Cherokee Trail, but after meeting with some of the neighbors, and further looking at the project, we will only be asking for an entrance off Browns Bridge Road tonight.”
After half-a-dozen people spoke in opposition to the rezoning and all questions from commissioners were addressed the vote was called. Commissioners Billy Powell, Jeff Stowe and Kathy Cooper voted in favor of the applicant’s request while Commission Chairman Richard Higgins and Commissioner Shelly Echols voted in opposition.
