GAINESVILLE - Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board members voted Tuesday night to override a motion to deny rezoning for a substance abuser group home.
The motion to deny locating Harold Hinchman's Agora House for Men at Grove and Parker Streets in Midtown got only one vote; approval got five yes votes.
Board member Joe Diaz argued this zoning was acceptable.
"We've got to make room as a society for these homes somewhere," Diaz said. "This is exactly what we want them to do."
Board members also approved a special use neighborhood business request for the 'Way Up' home for men to stay where it is on Washington Street.
Previously Planning and Appeals denied group homes illegally locating in residential areas.
ANNEXATION FIGHT
Homeowners lost, the developers won in an annexation tug of war that lasted an hour and a half.
The homeowners argued that Cleveland Highway LLC's proposal to locate 18 high priced single family homes on nine acres in a Planned Unit Development near their subdivisions strained density and overtaxed water resources already suffering from the drought.
Developer Bryan Rochester said city Planning staff approved the density at the site near Lake Lanier across from Cleveland Highway at Riverview Drive.
"This was the guideline that the city set and decided this is how we want to grow," Rochester said. "At 18 lots, it meets the Comprehensive Plan."
Planning and Appeals Board members unanimously approved the annexation.
Wednesday
October 16th, 2024
11:27PM
