The Hall County Board of Commissioners tabled a contentious addition of 44 townhomes to a planned residential development Thursday night.
AccessWDUN reported back in January that the same development was denied.
The development is off of Old Winder Highway on the property of Chestnut Mountain Church of Christ. At the time, the applicant requested 38 additional townhomes.
In the aftermath, the developer — Atlas Development Services — and the church filed civil action against Hall County.
The court ordered that the issue be reheard in an upcoming public meeting. If the property is rezoned, the petitioners will dismiss the action. If it is denied, the action will resume according to the order.
A big issue for residents is the amount of traffic that it will bring to an already stressed road that they say needs widening. Another issue was the fact that the zoning notice sign that is required to be posted was out of view and not conspicuous as required by law and that there were no notices sent out.
“My family received nothing in the mail notifying me that this was coming before you all tonight,” a resident said at the meeting.
Korey Anderson, who’s running in Commission District 1 where the proposal is, also spoke against it.
“That gate’s been locked everyday for 15 days except on Sunday. I go by there everyday,” Anderson said.
The applicant is supposed to put the sign up, but Planning Director Beth Garman said they had the marshal’s office go out to put the sign up since there was a limited amount of time.
“We followed our zoning laws, which is to make sure the sign is posted and to make sure that the property owner and the applicant are notified and to advertise in a timely manner,” Garman said.
Garman also added that they did not notify everyone within 500-feet of the proposal due to the short turnaround due to the order being filed on Oct. 14.
Anderson also mentioned District 1 Commissioner Kathy Cooper’s recusal in the original hearing for the item.
“My recusal was for 5079, but because they were intwined I could not vote on that item, which included both of those. I have no involvement in 5111,” Cooper said at the meeting.
Anderson questioned why she listed both addresses, to which Cooper replied that it was because that’s how they listed it on the agenda back in January.
“There’s nothing that they can do to make us hear this ever again,” District 3 Commissioner Gregg Poole said at the meeting. “The judge can’t make us do anything. He has no power if there’s anything we have done unethical.”
Poole’s point was that they could hear the development at a later date to allow for notice to be sent out to residents and to adjust the signage.
“I think public trust is being eroded when there’s a zoning notice sign behind a locked gate probably 500 feet off the main road,” Anderson said.
Chairman David Gibbs concurred that it is odd that the sign was that far off.
The applicant, Steven Gilliam, made a counterpoint to traffic concerns that State Route 211 is expected to be widened in the coming years, and that not all of the developments will be built immediately following a potential approval.
The commission ultimately decided to table it until proper notice can be sent out.
The development will be heard at the Dec. 11 voting meeting, which is set to be loaded with the proposed data center also being heard at that meeting.
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