The Hall County Planning Commission voted Tuesday evening to recommend denial of a 125-lot residential subdivision which is proposed for an area off Sardis Road north of Gainesville.
The applicant, Grace of Georgia Developments, LLC, is seeking to rezone the 41.71-acre plot from Agricultural Residential III to Planned Residential Development to allow for the construction of the neighborhood. The parcel is located at 4363 Sardis Road, just southwest of the road's intersection with Price Road.
Several area residents spoke in opposition to the rezoning at the meeting, citing concerns over lot sizes and density, traffic and Hall County's comprehensive plan.
A newly updated site plan for the development indicated each lot would be a minimum of 5000 square feet, according to county officials. Hall County Planning Staff recommended the denial of the rezoning due to the project's exceeding the one unit per acre limit as designated by the comprehensive plan. The proposal had an estimated density of 2.995 units per acre.
A representative of the applicant described the proposal as a collection of "upscale single-family detached homes." The subdivision would utilize sewer from the City of Gainesville if approved.
Planning Commissioner Gina Pilcher said she believed the development would be too much for that area on Sardis Road.
"I went by there yesterday afternoon, which was a holiday [Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]," Pilcher said. "I pulled in there at the driveway of the property where the sign is. And when I got ready to leave, it took me 10 minutes to get out right there. It was not a school day, it was not at school time, it was a holiday."
Planning Commissioner Johnny Varner said he could not support the proposal due to over-capacity in the public schools in that portion of Hall County.
Planning Commissioner Stan Hunt made the motion to deny the request, eventually leading to the unanimous recommendation in denial. The vote will forwarded to the Hall County Board of Commissioners, which will take a final vote on the matter on Feb 22 at 6 p.m.
