Mt Carmel Road apartments scheduled before the BOC

Mt Carmel Road apartments site plan
Applicants are proposing 275 apartments on Mt Carmel Road. (Henry County photo)
Mt Carmel Road apartments site plan

270 apartments are proposed on Mt Carmel Road. (Henry County photo)

The rezoning request was approved by the BOC. The board decreased the number of units to 230.

A request to build apartments along Mount Carmel Road will be heard by the board of commissioners on Tuesday, February 19, during its 6:30 pm meeting. The Reservoir Group has requested the rezoning from RA (residential agricultural) to RM (multifamily residential) to construct 270 units on 27.3 +/- acres located between 45 and 115 Mt Carmel Road. The property is located between Jonesboro Road and I-75 within commission district III.

The property is designated for high-density residential development on the county’s future land use map, supporting between six and sixteen units per acre. The project has a net density of 13.71 units per acre, and is therefore supported by the comprehensive plan. Planning staff have recommended approval for the request.

Proposed zoning conditions for the project include a five foot sidewalk with pedestrian path lighting and ten foot landscaping buffer along Mt Carmel Road, and the completion of a traffic impact study followed by the implementation of all recommended improvements. Community amenities shall include at least three of the following: tennis court, junior Olympic size swimming pool, clubhouse, activity center, pedestrian paths, dog park, or a fitness facility. Additional conditions stipulate that all buildings shall be constructed of brick, stone, stucco, cement fiberboard, or any combination thereof; and that the development shall be gated.

The request is estimated to generate an additional 550 students at Wesley Lakes Elementary, Eagle’s Landing Middle, and Eagle’s Landing High collectively. This will result in the need for twenty-two additional classrooms.

School capacity cannot be used as a reason to deny rezoning. The next opportunity to expand existing schools or construct new facilities will be through the education SPLOST VI project list, to be developed in 2021.

Photo of Big House style apartments
The applicant plans on building “Big House” style apartments. (staff photo)

The applicant presented their request to the zoning advisory board in November. The project proposes to build the apartments in what’s known as the “big house” style where ten units are constructed within each two-story building. The proposed units are 60% one bedroom, 20% two bedroom, and 20% three bedroom. Unit size varies between 696 and 1,425 square feet depending on the number of bedrooms.

The ZAB recommended approval of the request. There were no speakers during the public hearing at that meeting. A second public hearing will be conducted before the commissioners make a decision on the proposal. BOC meetings are held at the Henry County Administration Building located at 140 Henry Parkway in McDonough.

The applicant’s initial site plan and planning staff report are based on 275 units. The applicant’s most recent site plan depicts 270 units, a small reduction of five apartments.

About Clayton 1745 Articles
Clayton Carte is the founder and owner of The Henry Reporter. He founded the site in 2017 to highlight transportation projects. Over time, he began covering other topics like new development so residents can best know what’s happening in our community.

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