Rezoning to allow for a large mixed-use development was the topic of Dawsonville’s Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night.
Fox Creek Properties is seeking to purchase land at Lumpkin Campground Road at 400 in Dawsonville to build a development comprised of single-family housing, multi-family housing, retail shops, commercial use, office space, a hotel and light industrial uses.
The 520 acres between 400 and Etowah River need to be rezoned to allow for this development and discussion between the Planning Commission revolved around what that would look like. Kenneth Wood, a representative for Fox Creek Properties, assured the board that they have taken precautions to work with the land, ensuring that over 54% of the development would be left as open space. Green space was an important feature in the planning.
“The driving factor… The reason we believe we are looking at this as the right way for the property… We have already gone out spending tremendous time and energy figuring out how much rock there is, what type of trees there are, what do the creeks look like, what are the environmental issues and we came up with a plan to go off those answers. We are riding the ridges, not getting too close to the creek. It’s environmentally sensitive. It makes sense to work with the topography,” says Wood.
The property would have 941 single-family homes and 288 multi-family homes, leaving many to wonder how the community could handle that kind of increase in growth. The comments from the crowd expressed a disapproval for not just the zoning, but the project itself. Hugh Stowers, a Dawsonville resident, along with many others, showed concern for how the county would handle the increase in fire services, education, transportation and other issues. “There’s no way this road can handle what they are wanting to put there. Combining the number of homes they plan, that’s a total of 1,229 dwellings. Those smarter than me figure an average of two children per dwelling to be educated which equals 2,458 children. If you think the taxpayers can pay for the cost of their education, then you need to go ahead and approve this,” said Stowers. “If you think we need more retail stores, according to the empty stores at the outlet malls, then go ahead and approve this request. If you think we need to be like Atlanta and other areas, then allow them to strip the natural beauty and prevent our tourist business.” Others were also concerned if the community was ready for the massive impact and the 10% increase in population.
The Planning Commission had concerns, as well, but their concerns had more to do with allowing the project to be completed in phases. They wanted to be sure they understood the meaning of the “light industrial” uses. Members wanted to clarify the term, as well as verify that the project would not build one phase and leave the others undone.
Due to their concerns, the Planning Commission members unanimously decided to table the rezoning request until their October meeting and until they could get further clarification.
