The Hall County Commission approved a rezoning to make way for a nearly-150 lot residential development on Pine Valley Road near Gainesville at their meeting Thursday.
The developer, Cook Communities, had originally proposed building close to 250 units on the 34-acre site, but District 4 Commissioner Jeff Stowe said he limited the number of lots to 148 to keep the density low enough to allow just one entrance to the property. Representatives from Cook Communities indicated after the meeting that that restriction may change how many single-family homes are developed versus townhomes.
Several residents spoke against the project at Thursday's meetings with most of the concerns being about the additional traffic around what they called a dangerous series of intersections where Pine Valley Road, White Sulphur Road and Crescent Drive all meet near a railroad crossing on White Sulphur.
Developer Keith Cook also said the nearby roads need improvement and he pointed out that his group has agreed to pay for improvements to Pine Valley Road.
"I agree with them whole-heartedly. That is an inadequate intersection as it is now," Cook told commissioners. "We're looking to put in a 200-yard channelized right turn lane. If you look at the traffic reports and the improvements that we're putting in and making, that will make that an adequate intersection with the increased traffic."
Stowe said the county is also looking to add turn lanes on White Sulphur Road to try to address traffic concerns near the troubled intersections. He also told the crowd at Thursday's meeting that they should express their concerns about the intersections to the city of Gainesville, since several parcels of land in the area are within their limits, meaning any new access lanes connecting roads would likely have to be done by the city.
"Our main objective is to try to get turn lanes so it doesn't prohibit traffic from going on through past Pine Valley as somebody's waiting to take a left on Pine Valley off White Sulphur," Stowe said after the meeting. "The same when somebody's coming down Pine Valley to White Sulphur, if somebody was sitting there waiting to take a left, traffic backed up behind it."
Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the project with District 3 Commissioner Shelly Echols being the only vote against the rezoning.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/1/1073315/hall-commission-approves-pine-valley-road-townhome-development-despite-traffic-concerns