The Flowery Branch City Council is continuing to work with developer Edge City Properties, who requested to rezone 60 acres of property on 5183 Gainesville Street.
Edge City Properties initially proposed to build 186 single-family detached homes and 149 townhomes, but amended the request to 219 single-family detached homes and 94 townhomes. This change was due to lot and home size density concerns that were presented during the City Council’s first vote on Aug. 18.
Lots would be no greater than 5,550 square feet and would have a total density of 5.51 units per acre.
The modification also made Edge City Properties switch from a Residential-1 zoning to a Planned Unit Residential development.
Rich Atkinson, director of planning and community development, explained that a PUD development allows the Council to set designation requirements as the project moves along.
“Basically, it's a unique zoning that's in place to assist projects that don't fit into any kind of FB zoning designations,” Atkinson said. “There's no preset requirements with regard to a lot size units, setbacks, all that.”
Some City Council members were unsure if PUD would be the correct zoning, since they did not see a mix of other uses that a PUD is required to have. They said the Gainesville Street project would likely be designated as Residential-3 zoning with smaller lots.
But Edge City Properties representative Mike Dye argued that other nearby residential homes had a similar lot size to what he planned to build, and that these homes still had a PUD zoning. He also explained the other project features that would qualify the property as a mixed use development.
“It actually calls for different things like pocket parks, green space and amenity areas,” Dye said. “I have all those things that were submitted as part of the kind of the actual application. So I feel like it certainly does meet the ordinances of PUD.”
The property is within walking distance of downtown Flowery Branch, and Dye said the housing would be an asset to businesses in the area.
“Lastly, you know there is a big push as part of the comprehensive plan to really revitalize the downtown area and to do that through density,” Dye said. “And for my project to be 1,500 feet from the corner of the Spring Street is going to add a lot of walkability to supporting the restaurants and the businesses to the downtown area. So I hope that would be kind of an advantage to it.”
Two people spoke in opposition to the project. Mark Webber said the city needs to work on infrastructure problems before it adds more density.
“We can't continue to rezone properties with high density until we have the infrastructure when we simply don't have it,” Webber said. “And nobody's telling us where this money's gonna come from to deal with the sewage water. And that doesn't even take into account the roads and the other issues we need to deal with.”
The City Council will cast the final vote for the proposed Gainesville Street property on Sept. 15.
